Curse of Amun Ra
by Angelic Candy
Summary: Post Season One.The whole gang hopes things will stay normal.Unfortunately,students begin disappearing and unusual markings are found.Jaden and Sy get too curious.And Syrus accidentally triggers a curse.Sy X Jaden complete summary inside.
1. Prologue

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

_Author's Note: I don't own any of these characters—at least not the ones from Yu-Gi-oh GX. This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh GX story! However, I have done a mini-series based off of the original Yu-Gi-Oh with Yuugi and Yami and others. For those that liked it, check it out under my profile! It's an AU story and there's romance involved (although it's yaoi). _

_SPOILERS: Depending on where people live, not everyone has seen all the current episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh GX. I'm only going to mention some things, so for those of you who haven't seen episodes including the Pendants that are given to Zane, Alexis, Chazz, Jaden…etc, don't worry too much. It'll only be mentioned so it's not a big part. _

_EXTRA NOTE:_ _This story does NOT have to do with the plotline of the current Yu-Gi-Oh GX series where Jaden and others are protecting the Spirit Gate that holds the three God Beasts. This is actually after that when they survive the ordeal and Shadow Riders. For those of you who haven't seen the end of the first series, don't worry. You only have to know that they all don't die, as if that's not obvious :-) and then this story is taking place shortly after that. _

_GENRE: Action/Adventure/Suspense (and some humor and romance too! -) There will be **Syrus/Jaden** lovey dovey stuff. I'm not sure at this point if there will be other couples…we'll see. _

_Synopsis:_ _Jaden_ _is quickly becoming the best duelist at Duel Academy. His greatest rival is his best friend Sy's big brother Zane. Zane remains undefeated…for now. However, dueling for reputation and rank is not the biggest concern for Jaden and the others. For they are the only students at Duel Academy who have experienced the Shadow Realm and know that Duel Monsters isn't just a game. It's an ancient magic that could possibly destroy, or even save, the world—depending on who's on top. And Jaden and the others find that it's not even close to over. Strange things begin to happen at Duel Academy; students begin disappearing or losing their minds and unusual markings are found around the school. Jaden gets extremely suspicious and wants to figure out what's going on and with the help of his friends including Zane, Bastion, Chazz, Alexis and more. They all know if this keeps up Duel Academy won't be able to stay open, which means all their dreams of progressing in their dueling skills will vanish, along with a number of students' lives. As they all begin to delve deeper into a confusing mystery that could endanger all their lives, Syrus accidentally unlocks yet another mystery with an ancient power, which brings about unexpected results and takes the gang on an adventure they never could've imagined._

**Prologue: **

The air was fresh and crisp as it blew through the slightly opened window in one of the Slifer Dorms. Three figures inside were deep asleep in their beds, oblivious to the morning rays of light that crept through the glass. There were two bunk beds in the small room, though one of them in the back by the door only had one occupant. The other bunk beds by the window had two occupants. The one on the top bunk was a small teen, having hair a light shade of blue. The one below had brown hair and was snoring soundly. At that moment an alarm rang loudly, stirring two of three boys out of their sleep.

The top bunk jerked roughly as the boy with light blue hair shot up, rubbing his tired eyes. Syrus blinked, realizing he had fallen asleep with his glasses on again. The sound of the alarm continued to ring and blearily Syrus climbed down from the top bunk to turn it off. Turning, he saw that Chumley, his large friend sleeping in the other bunk alone, was rubbing his eyes tiredly. Sighing in frustration, Syrus approached his friend, who happened to still be snoring soundly.

"Jaden! Jaden, wake up! We're going to be late for class!"

Syrus shook his friend but he didn't wake up; instead he only rolled over and continued to snore peacefully. Feeling rather annoyed, Syrus bent down toward Jaden's ear.

"JADEN WAKE UP!"

Jaden's head jerked up and his arms flailed about in surprise. The sudden movement through his body off balance and he rolled right out of bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow!" Jaden exclaimed, rubbing his butt as he winced. "Sy, you really need to find another way to wake me up."

"Sorry, but we're really going to be late for class!" Syrus exclaimed nervously, while flinging his clothes off as he hurried to get dressed. "You know if we're late one more time we're going to have to stay after class. And I really, _really_ don't want to."

"Isn't that just because you want to watch your brother duel later," Jaden said, yawning as he picked himself up off the floor.

Syrus gave him an annoyed look and crossed his arms. "It's not just to watch Zane duel; it's also because of the celebration."

Chumley, who was already dressed and waiting for his friends, walked over to them and sat down on Jaden's bed.

"What celebration?"

Syrus paused from hurrying to get his books together and stared at both Jaden and Chumley incredulously.

"Don't tell me you both didn't pay attention to what Professor Wilder said last week at the end of class!"

Jaden hesitated after pulling on his Slifer red jacket. "Well, I guess I did fall asleep for a bit there. Of course…I normally fall asleep in her class. Studying just isn't my forte."

"Mine neither," Chumley added. "Can we go get breakfast now?"

"Hold on Chum, I want to find out what this celebration is!" Jaden smiled, turning back to Syrus. "So, Sy, what is it?"

"Jaden, we really don't have time!" Syrus exclaimed, pocketing his deck.

"Aw, come on," Jaden smiled, giving his friend an excited grin.

Syrus sighed then nodded. "Alright. There's a celebration for Duel Academy since it's been open for a full five years now. Apparently once a new school reaches the minimum number of years to be open to be considered successful, they get a certificate or some sort of award. Anyway, the principle is planning on having a huge celebration with all three dorms. I heard Dr. Crowler wasn't pleased because he thought the Obelisk blue dorm should have a special celebration just for them," Syrus huffed, giving Jaden a displeased expression. "But he didn't get his way, luckily."

Jaden gave Sy a small smile, knowing very well Sy wanted to see his brother again. They hadn't spoken in some time since Zane was really busy, being since this was his final semester at Duel Academy (Zane decided to stay a little longer, even though he could've graduated early, just to get a little more advanced practice in). He and Sy had gotten a chance to watch Zane duel again almost three weeks ago and since then they've just been hearing about how Zane continued to stay on top dueling nearly every day to be prepared for finals.

"So where is this party going to be held?" Jaden asked as he stuffed his books in his bag (not that it mattered since he'd probably fall asleep again anyway).

Syrus blinked and stood in thought for a few seconds. "I'm not sure actually. There's probably a notice up around the school somewhere."

Jaden nodded. "Alright! That's sweet! We haven't had a party in a long time. All it's been is school and more school. I mean, don't get me wrong I love dueling, but the homework is killing me!"

Syrus' eyebrows rose slightly. "Uh…what homework? You don't do any."

"Ehehe…heh…alright, let's go!" Jaden said, heading toward the door.

Syrus and Chumley followed right behind him running since they were already about to be late. Chumley puffed behind Sy, who was trying to catch up to Jaden.

"Do we have to run?" Chumley complained.

"Jaden, wait up!" Sy exclaimed, oblivious to his larger friend's antics.

The three of them ran into their _Dueling Legends_ classroom five minutes late and just as they entered a huge sound caught them off guard. Sy turned and blinked with wide, light-grey eyes and Jaden sweat-dropped, smiling half-heartedly and slightly embarrassed. The young woman professor had thrown a book right by their heads that landed on the wall right by the door. Twitching an eyebrow slightly, she glared at them.

"Ah, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, nice of you to join us. I believe an after class detention is in order."

Syrus groaned and thumped his head on the desk as he let it fall. Jaden just yawned and rested his head on his hand, getting ready to fall asleep. Chumley was looking at the clock as if hoping lunch would arrive soon.

"But," Professor Wilder continued, smiling cheerfully, "because of the celebration today I'll let it pass."

Sy's head came up and a huge grin spread across his face. "Yes! We're saved!"

"However, if you both are late one more time you'll be spending detention with me for the rest of the year, is that clear?" she smiled cheerfully as her tone appeared threatening.

Both of them nodded and she then continued the lecture. Jaden just leaned back in his chair while Sy breathed a sharp sigh of relief.

"Yep," Jaden yawned. "Wake me when class is over, will ya Sy?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Sy watched as Jaden pulled down the eye mask he put together to make it look like he was awake (though it really didn't work). As Jaden began snoring softly beside him, Sy began to day dream of what it would like to be graduating like his big brother. Professor Wilder began to explain how certain individuals became legends (only occasionally mentioning Yuugi Mutoh), but half the class was already distracted by a number of things. Some kids were staring out the window, just thinking and others were doodling. Syrus drifted from his day dream and looked around, noticing that the class was rather small. Most classes were mixed with groups from the Slifer dorm, the Ra dorm and the Obelisk blue dorm, but he didn't see anyone he recognized. In their _Dueling Strategies_ class he knew Alexis and Bastion had the same one, but the first class of the day always held the same students that they never conversed with. Still, although Sy didn't know any of them personally, he was certain a few were missing.

A few minutes toward the end of class, Sy woke up his friend and once class was over Professor Wilder assigned reading homework for the test next week. Jaden stretched his arms over his head as they walked out and began heading toward their next class.

"Is grilled cheese going to be served for lunch today?" Chumley asked, glancing at them.

Jaden shrugged. "No clue, Chum. Hey Sy, did you take any notes?"

"A few, but I don't understand much about what Professor Wilder says," Sy smiled while scratching the back of his head. "It's like she's speaking another language."

"Oh good; I didn't miss anything then," Jaden grinned and winked at him.

The next few classes were the same, except that Sy recognized Alexis, Bastion and Chazz in their _History of Duel Monsters_ class. Chazz kept to himself and just about glared when he saw Jaden asleep. Sy spotted him staring but when Chazz's eyes caught his he quickly looked away. The older boy had an intimidating aura about him and often was cynical and sarcastic. He yelled at Jaden whenever even the smallest opportunity arose. History was, if possible, even more boring than Alchemy. It could've been because Dr. Crowler was teaching it, but either way it went by incredibly slow. When it was over, however, it was finally lunch time. As the class began failing out, Alexis began approaching them while Sy was having difficulty waking Jaden up.

"Jaden, come one!" Sy shook him harder.

"Don't bother, Sy. He'll come around when he wants to," Alexis said, glancing down at the slumbering teen.

"Yeah, I guess," Sy responded, shrugging. "Hey Alexis, is Zane coming to the celebration?"

She smiled at him. "I think so. Zane does want to make sure he's prepared when he has to pass his final duel before graduating, but he's already been studying non-stop. I think a break would do him some good."

"Yeah…he does study too much," Sy sighed half-heartedly. "Jaden doesn't even have to study and his dueling skills are almost as good as Zane."

"Please, that Slifer-slacker is only going to go so far!"

Both Sy and Alexis turned to see Chazz approaching them with his arms crossed, glaring heatedly down at Jaden. Bastion and Chumley had already headed down to lunch so it was just the four of them in the empty classroom.

"But Jaden's one of the top duelists too!" Sy exclaimed, defending his friend. "He may not have beaten my brother yet, but he defeated most of the Shadow Riders by himself."

"What are you saying!" Chazz snapped, glaring angrily at him. "That the rest of us did nothing! That we didn't help protect those three rare sacred beast cards!"

"Chazz, you can lower your voice. We're right by you," Alexis said, glancing up at him casually.

He made a weird face as his eyes traveled over to her and finally he just closed them and looked away. "Fine, but if you really want help waking him here's how to do it."

In one swipe, Chazz grabbed one of his books from his bag and whacked Jaden over the head with it. Jaden snorted and fell off his chair, blinking dazedly.

"What happened?" he asked, getting back on his feet.

"You're what happened!" Chazz snapped, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. "You sleep through all of your classes, get horrible grades and yet people still think you're one of the best duelists at this school!"

Jaden grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You really think so?"

Chazz scowled and made a move to hit him again with the book, but the door opened and Dr. Crowler stepped in.

"What are you four still doing here!" he exclaimed in his high-pitched voice. "You should be at lunch!"

"Oh right," Jaden laughed nervously. "So, uh…when's the celebration Dr. Crowler?"

Dr. Crowler's eyes narrowed at the boy, knowing full well he had been asleep. He glanced away almost carelessly. "There won't be any celebration."

"What!" Sy and Jaden exclaimed, exchanging surprised expressions. Even Alexis and Chazz looked surprise.

"What do you mean there's no celebration?" Chazz asked, clenching his fist as he stared at the skinny man with surprise and outrage.

"Just because! It's been canceled," he huffed. "Now, if you don't mind I'd like to eat my lunch in peace so please leave!"

Jaden blinked. "You mean, you don't eat in the cafeteria? How come?"

"Because I don't like being surrounded by pests like you!" Dr. Crowler exclaimed, pointing a finger. "NOW LEAVE!"

The four students scrambled out of the room instantly and closed the door behind them. Jaden swung his arms behind his head as they walked away down the hall.

"Wonder why it's been canceled," Alexis said aloud.

"I was looking forward to it," Sy said sadly, glancing at the floor.

They heard a snort and saw Chazz walk fast to get ahead of them.

"Chazz, where ya going?" Jaden asked, blinking curiously.

Chazz glanced over his shoulder and glared at him. "Away from you, Jaden. I don't want to be seen with you Slifer-slackers."

"Hey! I'm not as much of a slacker as Jaden!" Sy exclaimed as his eyebrows furrowed.

"You're still a Slifer!" Chazz shot back. "I'm going to where the other Obelisk students eat. Good riddance!" he said, stalking off.

Sighing, Alexis just shook her head, wondering how they had all worked together to help save the school and the world from annihilation when the Shadow Riders were after the three sacred beast cards. Sure, they had just barely survived that and Jaden had been the one to defeat most of the them, but she didn't understand how such an odd group had managed to come out together. With Chazz hating Jaden, along with just about everyone else he snapped at, and Jaden and Zane being rivals, she just didn't see how it had turned out alright in the end. The dueling academy was back to normal and none of the other students knew anything, except their group (Chazz, Bastion, Professor Banner (who was deceased now), Dr. Crowler, the principal, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and her brother, who had decided to stay and learn at Duel Academy).

"Geez, Chazz is such a grump," Jaden mumbled. "So, what are you two going to get for lunch?"

Sy blinked and shrugged. "I don't know."

Alexis remained silent, lost in her thoughts and Jaden glanced at her curiously, but didn't bother her. When they got to the lunch room they saw that it wasn't that crowded and that many students were huddled together whispering.

"What's going on?" Sy asked nervously. "You don't think they're whispering about us, do you?"

"Why would they, Sy? We're not that interesting," Jaden smiled, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Come on; let's find out what everyone's talking about. Alexis, you coming too?"

"Sure," she answered, following them as they came to the first table.

The whispering Ra yellow students glanced up at them and Jaden smiled. "Hey there. What's going on?"

"You haven't heard?" one of them asked, lowering his voice. "The celebration's been canceled."

"Yeah, we heard. What's so bad about that?" Jaden asked, as Sy and Alexis listened intently.

"It's because some students have gone missing," another one answered nervously. "And one of them turned up the other day, a Slifer by the name of Di. They found him wandering by the school hot springs and he was sort of in a trance. They brought him back and called the school nurse, but they can't wake him up. It's like he's snapped and forgotten how to talk and do anything."

"The principal's not happy about this either. He doesn't want anyone finding out about it because he's afraid Duel Academy will be shut down, since there were disappearances before."

Jaden, Sy and Alexis exchanged worried glances. It was true; they knew all about the disappearances because of the Shadow Riders and other supernatural things. They had thought once the sacred beast cards were saved that it was all over and things would just go back to normal. Now, however, there seemed to be some more disappearances.

"Uh…thanks," Jaden said, nodding to them as they walked off.

"More disappearances!" Sy exclaimed fearfully. "It couldn't be Shadow Riders again, could it J?"

Jaden's eyes narrowed in thought. "I'm not sure, Sy. I think we should go visit the principal ourselves and ask."

"But Jaden, he might not want to involve any of the students," Alexis spoke up gravely. "He already put our lives at risk the last time when he gave us the seven keys to protect those cards."

"Yeah, well, if he can give us the keys then he can tell us what's going on. I'm going there, are you coming Sy?"

Looking around nervously, the blue-haired boy hesitated but finally he nodded his head. "I'm with ya J."

Alexis sighed heavily and shook her head. "Look, you two go on ahead, but I'm going to find Zane and see if he knows anything."

"Okay," Jaden nodded, waving to her as she walked away.

Sy glanced after her but followed his best friend toward the principal's office. He really hoped there weren't any more Shadow Riders. For one thing, he didn't want to be bait again for Jaden or Zane. And also, he felt bad that the last time he couldn't really help his best friend. Although his dueling had definitely improved it still wasn't up to the standard he wanted. Sure, he got better grades than Jaden, but he was still way behind him in dueling. And if it was another Shadow Rider, there was no way Syrus could help duel against them. Sometimes, he felt a bit helpless. So many burdens were placed on Jaden and Zane's shoulders, plus Bastion, Alexis and Chazz because the five of them were the top duelists. But he just fell in with the crowd, like Chumley, and it hurt that he couldn't help them.

"Hey Sy, you alright?"

His grey eyes gazed into Jaden's light brown eyes and he saw the sincere concern. He smiled gently and shook his head. "It's nothing, J. I was just thinking. Hey…J?"

"Yeah?" he inquired.

"Well…if it is another problem with Shadow Riders, or something, I'll help you in any way I can," Sy said softly.

Jaden smiled down at him widely and put an arm around his shoulders. "I know you will, Sy! You've got the biggest heart out of anyone I know."

Grinning back, Sy felt his fears diminish somewhat. And even as they approached the principal's doors, he didn't feel as frightened. The door was closed but a couple voices were muffled but still noticeable from behind it. Jaden gestured for him to be quiet as they approached. Very carefully, Jaden turned the knob and let the door slide open a crack.

"…again. So you see, that's what I'm concerned about," the principal's voice rang out softly.

Sy was leaning up against Jaden as their ears were pressed up by the open crack.

"I understand, Principal Sheppard," a familiar voice responded.

Syrus gasped softly. "That sounded like Zane," he whispered.

Jaden nodded. "Looks like Alexis isn't going to find him. Maybe Zane had the same idea we did."

They heard the principal sigh heavily. "I'm sorry I'm asking for your help. I know you and your friends barely survived the last ordeal with the Shadow Riders but Kaiba isn't pleased that his Dueling Academy is having so many mysterious incidents. I talked to him earlier today and he told me if the problems persist then he might have to shut it down and build something new…probably just another dueling arena. I really think this academy has so much potential for many years to come. I didn't realize that it would attract so many problems and I certainly don't want my students in danger here. If students keep disappearing or strange supernatural and dangerous incidents keep occurring then this academy might not even get new enrollments during the next term."

"I'll help you any way I can," the other familiar voice replied smoothly.

"I just need you to keep your eye out for anything suspicious. There might be reporters lurking around, but most importantly I want to know who is kidnapping my students and bringing some back in serious conditions. I know you have your own burdens like studying for your final duel so just do whatever you can."

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes open," the voice sounded strangely calm.

"Thank you…maybe you could alert some of your friends too. They might be able to help," Principal Sheppard finished, his voice on the verge of desperation.

Jaden panicked and pushed away from the door, almost knocking Syrus over as footsteps began to approach. Grabbing the smaller boy's arm, Jaden dragged him away into the boys' bathroom just as the door opened. They heard footsteps walking in the opposite direction of the bathroom so very slowly Jaden peered out and saw Zane walking down the hall. Sy peered out after him and his facial features brightened when he saw his brother. Sy stepped out so quickly Jaden barely had time to react.

"Za—mphh!"

Jaden covered his mouth and pulled him back roughly as Zane turned, having heard the sound. His dark blue eyes scanned the hallway and then he began walking away again. Jaden sighed with relief and let his surprised friend go.

"Sy, what were you doing?"

"I wanted to say hi to him," he pouted and crossed his arms.

Jaden patted his shoulder. "I know, but you can always go visit him at his dorm if you miss him that much. Besides, Sy, if Zane saw us, he would've known."

"Known what?"

Jaden let out a surprised cry and jumped back behind Sy at the soft voice nearby. His eyes were wide and an awkward expression was on his face.

"Zane!" Sy grinned, reaching out and throwing his arms around his waist.

Jaden nearly toppled over since he had been holding onto Sy's jacket. Syrus held onto him tightly and gazed up at him. The familiar blue eyes blinked down at him in surprise before a subtle smile showed through. Zane put one arm around his brother for a second to greet him back. Sy finally let go of him and Jaden managed to keep a straight face.

"You didn't have to scare me like that," he insisted, forcing a laugh as he stared at the older teen.

The obelisk student's gaze hardened and Zane again looked like he normally did: grim and passive.

"What are you two doing here, Jaden?"

The teen blinked and laughed nervously. "Why are you just asking me?"

Zane closed his eyes for a second before opening them and folding his arms. "Sy normally doesn't think of these schemes without your help. And this definitely isn't the cafeteria; I know you two should be at lunch right now."

"Well, uh…you're wrong, Zane. This isn't a scheme at all," Jaden smiled widely—too widely. "Sy and I were just taking a bathroom break before lunch," he grinned, throwing an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.

Zane's eyes narrowed. "You were going to the bathroom together all the way up here when there's a bathroom right by the lunch room?"

"Yeah…we like this bathroom better and Sy just decided to come with me. Right Sy?" Jaden glanced at him for help.

Sy blinked, not wanting to lie to his brother but also knowing Jaden was right. They would get in trouble for eves dropping.

"Yeah," he said, not reaching Zane's eyes. "But we weren't in the same stall!" he blurted out, glancing up at Zane who stared down at him while blinking in surprise form his outburst.

Sy's cheeks heated up when he realized what he was implying and he glanced at Jaden who smiled at Zane, sweatdropping. "Uh…what Sy means is…," he trailed off, laughing uneasily.

Zane stared at them for a minute, passively before he turned and began walking away. Sy bit his lip and glanced at his best friend with saddened eyes. Sighing, Jaden gave in to the look and nodded. Brightening, the smaller boy ran to catch up with his brother with Jaden in toe.

"Zane, wait!"

Halting, Zane turned back around and Sy looked up at him guiltily. "Sorry Zane…we weren't exactly being truthful. We were, uh…eves dropping."

Zane's lips curled into a smile and he crossed his arms casually. "I figured that was the case."

"Oh man," Jaden said glumly. "So, are you going to tell Principal Sheppard?"

"No, I won't."

"Thanks Zane!" Sy grinned happily.

"Yeah, thanks. Oh and we'll help you try and figure out what's happening to the students," Jaden grinned.

Sy glanced at him in surprise. "We will?"

"Sure! If more than one person is looking we're sure to find something," his friend assured with a wink.

Sy sighed, knowing he said he wanted to help. A bit reluctantly, he nodded.

"Fine, but be careful. Don't go out past bedtime and always stick together," Zane said, gazing at them both. "If you want to help then just keep your eyes open for students acting unusual, alright? Me, Bastion and Alexis will be doing the rest."

"You got it!" Jaden grinned back.

Zane nodded and gave Sy a small nod before heading back in the direction he had been walking. Sy watched as he disappeared down the hall then turned to his friend.

"How are we going to help, J?" he asked with wide, curious eyes.

His friend inclined his head to face him and Sy could already see the familiar glint in those brown eyes. "We're going out tonight, Sy!" he said confidently.

"T-tonight? Like…before dinner?" Sy gulped, seeing his friend's excitement grow.

Jaden grinned widely. "Nope. After dinner. Preferably after bed time."

Sy gapped. "But…didn't you hear what Zane said!"

"Course I did, Sy. But how are we going to find the kidnapper when he only comes out late at night to unsuspecting students? Don't worry, Sy, we'll stick together. I bet Zane, Bastion and Alexis will be out at night too."

Sy felt his stomach flip nervously. Jaden was already scheming again. His friend was one of the best duelists and had a kind heart, but he did seem to look for trouble at times. Still, Sy wasn't about to let him go alone.

"J, promise me we're going to be careful. We'll just look around for a little bit and then go to bed, right?"

"Don't be nervous, Sy," Jaden put an arm around him. "We won't stay out too long. I just have this feeling that during the night is when we might find some clues."

"Okay," Sy answered uncertainly. "But if I get kidnapped, I'm coming back to haunt you."

"Heh…that's a little creepy, Sy," Jaden's lips curled awkwardly. "Alright, let's go get some lunch! We need our energy for tonight!" he thrust his fist in the air as they began to head back toward the cafeteria.

"I hope Chum saved us some grilled cheese, if there was any," Sy said.

The brown-haired boy was already off in his own world, daydreaming about food and what they would do that night. He was oblivious to Sy's complaints even as they got in line for lunch. They had around twenty minutes to eat and get to class, but thankfully Jaden was a fast eater for how much he ate and Sy didn't eat as much.

The two friends met up with Chumley during lunch and the three of them made their way to their next class. Jaden filled the larger boy in on what was going on and their plans for that night.

"As long as we bring some food," he said, nodding.

"Alright!" Jaden grinned, turning back to face the teacher. "You know…I'm not that tired. I think I'm just too excited about tonight."

"Yeah…well that makes one of us," Sy said nervously, feeling his stomach clench again.

Jaden just laughed softly and pulled him close. "If that creep does come out, I'll challenge him to a duel to win back everyone he's taken."

"But what if he doesn't want to duel?" Sy asked nervously, glancing up at him even in their close distance.

He was used to being hugged by Jaden and pulled close to him, so it didn't bother him much. And he could clearly see Jaden's eyes brightening from the idea of a duel. He hadn't had an exciting one since the Shadow Riders, although those duels were as terrifying as they were thrilling because of the challenge. Still, Jaden didn't scare easily and Sy was envious of him because of that.

"Well…we'll make some kind of deal, I guess," Jaden shrugged. "But he must want the students for a reason. It can't be random. And if it's not a Shadow Rider then that means there won't be any shadow duels so it won't be as dangerous as before."

"Maybe," Sy replied softly, feeling as Jaden pulled him closer until he was in a hug.

Blushing out of embarrassment as the teacher cleared his throat, gesturing for them to split apart, Sy then got back into his original place, trying not to think about all the bad possibilities of searching for a kidnapper. He knew there was no way he'd be able to concentrate on school work for the rest of the day…or night.

**XXXXX**

_Later that night…around 11:15 p.m._

"Are you sure we should be going this way?" a nervous voice whispered.

"We might as wel—ouch! That was my foot!" another voice answered back.

"I'm hungry," a deeper voice complained softly. "Can we take a break?"

"Chum, we haven't even been walking for ten minutes," Jaden spoke up, peering around the bush they were hiding behind.

Sy grasped Jaden's arm as he peered around too. All three of them were dressed in black to blend in the darkness. Jaden was wearing black jeans and a black tank-top. Chumley was wearing large black pajama pants and a brown long-sleeved shirt while Sy was wearing black shorts and a black t-shirt with a signed autograph of Yuugi Mutoh next to his picture (which was on the back). They were heading in the direction of the Ra dorms, but Jaden most likely wasn't planning to actually go to the dorms. Sy wasn't sure where he was going, but he just wished he was back in their dorm snuggled safely under his covers.

"Come on, let's move," Jaden whispered, grabbing Sy's arm and gesturing for Chumley to follow. "The last student who disappeared was in the school hot springs."

"How do you know that?" Sy asked, glancing up at his friend and finding it hard to see him in the dark.

"Because I overheard students talking. Anyway, apparently a Ra yellow student and an Obelisk blue student dared each other to go out at night to the hot springs. Well apparently the Obelisk blue student left the Ra student hanging dry, since he wanted the other boy to get in trouble and not him, and what ended up happening was the Ra boy disappeared. Well the Obelisk blue student came forward the other day with the information since the boy's been missing for three days. I guess the guilt was killing him."

"That's creepy," Sy murmured.

"Yeah, definitely not licious," Chumley nodded in agreement.

Sy nodded and suddenly gasped, grasping onto Jaden tightly from behind. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jaden asked as he felt Sy clinging to him.

"T-that. It's like…like rustling," he whispered shakily.

"It's probably just the wind," Jaden answered, taking Sy's hand and squeezing it tightly. "Don't worry, Sy, I'll protect you."

From their close position, as Jaden inclined his head so he could see him, Sy saw the sincerity shining in his eyes. He felt his cheeks heat up and he was thankful it was dark out. Opening his mouth, he decided it was time to tell him something that he had been hiding for a while. A soft rustling interrupted him and a second later a huge, bulky figure stepped out in front of them. Sy's eyes widened and his mouth froze; Jaden turned his head to where Sy was staring and found the enormous shadowy figure moving closer to them.

"It's…it's…," Jaden whispered.

"IT'S ALIVE!" Sy suddenly screamed, causing Chumley to trip as he stumbled backward.

Both Jaden and Sy let out cries of surprise as they tumbled backward as well, landing on their friend. Jaden was lying on top of Sy crookedly and both of them were on top of Chumley, who was covering his head with his hands.

"Tell me when it's over," Chumley said fearfully.

"Well, would you look at this? How pathetic."

Jaden blinked and leaned heavily on Sy as he straightened up. "Wait, I know that voice."

Out of the shadows came the enormous, bulky figure, or rather several figures that had seemed like they had been morphed into one. Chazz came out first, smirking down at them with amusement and Zane, Alexis and Bastion followed.

"Oh…hehe, hey guys," Jaden laughed nervously. "What's going on?"

"I thought I told you not to go out at night, Jaden," Zane said coolly as he crossed his arms.

"Figures the Slifer-slacker can't follow simple directions," Chazz sniggered. "And look, he's even afraid of the dark."

"He is not!" Sy exclaimed, pushing his self off of Chumley as he gazed at Chazz with a determined expression. "You guys shouldn't have been sneaking up on us."

"Sy."

His angry tone evaporated and Syrus slowly turned to look at Zane who was staring down at him with an unreadable expression. Biting his lip, Sy glanced down at the ground sheepishly.

"It wasn't Jaden's fault, Zane. I agreed to come with him."

"I know, but you all shouldn't be out here," Zane said while he uncrossed his arms.

Alexis stepped forward and glanced around. "You know, we should probably be quiet if we don't want to scare the kidnapper off."

"Uh, actually, I think we should scare him off," Sy said with a nervous half-smile.

"Look, why don't you kids just get on back to the slacker dorm. It's past your bed time anyway," Chazz said, staring down at them coldly.

"Oh yeah, if it's so dangerous then why are you all out here?" Jaden countered with a smug grin. "You know, I heard what principal Sheppard said. The more people looking around the better, right?"

Zane's eyes narrowed and Chazz snorted in disbelief.

"We're not getting anywhere by arguing," Bastion stated firmly. "If we're going to find him we better start looking."

Jaden jumped up suddenly with his fists clenched in determination. "And we're helping!"

"Keep it down, J. I don't want the kidnapper to hear us," Sy stated while putting an arm on his friend's shoulder.

"Hehhe…" Jaden smiled awkwardly.

"Fine, but you all need to stay with us," Zane said firmly.

"What? You're letting them come with us?" Chazz's eyes narrowed. "Just great."

"Great, let's go," Jaden smiled as Sy clung onto him again.

Chumley followed behind them trying to keep up as the group of them began walking toward the hot springs. Sy was looking all around quite frightened and Chumley was muttering about walking so much. Jaden, however, looked ecstatic as he searched for any clues. Now and again, Sy glanced at his brother who was walking ahead of him and hoped he wasn't angry. Although he had gotten better with relying on him, it was still hard not to think about how Zane felt.

"Here we are," Alexis whispered as they approached the hot springs.

"Look around, but still close to one another," Zane said quietly.

Chazz just rolled his eyes and went off to explore. Bastion and Alexis took off in the same area and Zane stayed close to where they were, searching around the outside of the area.

"You know," Jaden whispered in Sy's ear. "I bet if there are any clues it would be underwater, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't know, J. That might not be safe. You heard what Zane said: stick close," Sy whispered uncertainly.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I won't leave your side," Jaden smiled at him, grasping his hand. "Come on."

Sy glanced over at Chumley who was sitting on a large rock in order to catch his breath. Jaden tugged his arm and pulled him away from the area where he could see Zane looking around. The two of them approached the edge and Jaden suddenly began pulling off his shirt. Sy found his cheeks heating up in partial embarrassment and he quickly looked around.

"J, what if someone sees you? Like Alexis?"

"They're all the way over there," Jaden said casually while pointing. "And besides, it's too dark to really see anything. Come on, aren't you coming in with me?"

"What?" Sy's eyes widened. "Jaden…"

Jaden finished taking off everything except his underwear and set his clothes aside. Then he dipped into the warm, steamy water and sighed contently. He waded around slowly before turning and glancing up at him.

"You know, if you don't come in you'll be left all alone up there," Jaden said as his expression turned serious.

Sy gulped and shook his head as a sudden vision of him being kidnapped came to mind. "Alright, J, alright," Sy whispered furiously as he tugged his clothing off. He made sure to keep his glasses on though so that he wouldn't be completely blind, even in the dark.

Stepping into the water, he felt the warmth and suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around him. Blushing furiously, Sy stuttered: "J-Jaden, what are you doing?"

"Just seeing where you are," he whispered in his ear.

Sy turned and could just barely see his friend's smiling face. Jaden then gestured for him to follow and slowly the two of them waded cautiously away. It was impossible to see anything at all so Sy didn't understand what his friend was looking for. It was a good thing Sy had learned how to swim or he would be forced to stay on bank. He followed closely behind Jaden to make sure he didn't get separated. As they waded around, Sy was becoming a little more relaxed. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

A slight jerk on his feet caused him to gasp and throw his arms around Jaden's neck while pressing up against his back.

"Sy! Hey…you're…choking me," Jaden sputtered.

"I felt something beneath me!" Sy exclaimed shakily, pointing to the spot where he had been. "it was…trying to pull me down!"

Jaden eased the smaller boy's arms from around his neck and turned to face him. Sy was still pressed up against him and as his arms went back to his side, Jaden pulled him closer in a one-armed embrace.

"Relax, Sy. It was just your imagination. There's nothing in the water."

"C-can we please go back now?" Sy stammered.

Jaden saw the fear in his eyes and reluctantly he nodded. He really wanted to explore more but he wasn't going to make Syrus uncomfortable. Together they swam back toward the place where they left their clothes.

"Oh, there they are!" a feminine voice spoke up.

Sy's face flushed in embarrassment as he saw his brother, Alexis, Chazz and Bastion standing where their clothes were, obviously having been looking for them.

"While we're off doing all the work, you two decide to go skinny-dipping," Chazz snorted with crossed arms. His glare settled on both of them but Sy was too busy blushing and gapping from his comment to notice.

"We were not! See?" Jaden stepped out of the water.

"Jaden!" Alexis exclaimed, flushing pink as she turned away.

Although it was hard to see anything they could still tell he had most of his clothes off and his underwear clung tightly to his body because he was wet. It left very little for the imagination and Sy couldn't help but blush as well, feeling slightly embarrassed that his brother had to catch him and Jaden swimming in their underwear.

"I told you two to stay close," Zane reprimanded, glancing down at Syrus who had trouble meeting his gaze.

"Look, we just went exploring a little to see if any clues were in the water. After all, that student could've been swimming while he was kidnapped."

"JADEN!" Sy shouted angrily, flushing with both annoyance and surprise. "If I would've known the kidnapper could be in the water I wouldn't have agreed to that!"

Jaden just smiled widely, trying to hide his awkwardness. "Oops…sorry Sy. I guess I didn't think about that."

"Well it's a good thing some of us were really working," Chazz scolded coolly, "because we actually found something."

While getting out of the water and hurrying to get to his clothes, Sy glanced at the older boy. "Really?"

"What did you find?" Jaden asked in excitement, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Put some clothes on first!" Chazz snapped, looking away snobbishly with his eyes closed.

Hurriedly, Jaden slipped into his clothing, getting his pants wet because he was still soaked, but he didn't mind. Sy stepped up awkwardly since his brother was right by him. Slowly approaching his brother, he lightly pulled on his arm sleeve. He felt Zane's head incline to gaze down at him.

"Big brother, I'm sorry I went off. You're not mad, are you?" Sy asked warily as he peered into his brother's dark gaze, which luckily was hard to see.

He heard Zane uncross his arms. "I'm not mad, Syrus. I was telling you to stick close for your own good. We don't need the kidnapper to get any more victims."

"I know," Sy said softly as he looked up at him. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

Zane stared at him passively and nodded. Sy gave him a small smile and he saw Zane's eyes soften a bit.

"Alright, so where is it? Show us already!" Jaden exclaimed, pleading with Chazz now that he was dressed.

"It's this way," Bastion pointed.

Alexis kept her face forward, still flushing from when Jaden had come out with hardly anything on. She let her self glance in his direction and saw Syrus hurrying toward Jaden. The smaller boy gripped Jaden's arm and grinned as the taller boy put an arm around him. Their friendship was very well-known; they were one of the best tag-team duelists in the school and not just because Jaden was very talented. Syrus was catching up with him as well. Zane seemed more outwardly compassionate and proud toward his brother since the Camilla incident; it made her happy to see that they could get along so well. Unfortunately, she and Atticus, her brother, were a different story. Sighing, she turned her attention back to where they were going.

They came to a small clearing right by the small forest that was to the west of the school. There were rocks cluttered together that students normally used to sit on when playing in the springs. Jaden squinted in the dark and searched around with his eyes.

"What did you find?"

"This is supposedly the area the two boys were supposed to meet in," Bastion said quietly. "Or at least that's what the Obelisk blue student said."

"And we found this," Zane said, pointing to an area on one of the rocks.

Jaden and Syrus stepped closer and finally saw unusual markings carved into the rock, like some sort of ancient language. Although they couldn't read it, they knew it definitely wasn't something from around there.

"What is it?" Sy asked softly, glancing over his shoulder at the others.

"We don't know," Bastion said, shaking his head. "We should probably tell principal Sheppard because it might be a clue to the student's disappearance."

"You mean like the kidnapper is leaving ritual markings to show he has taken a victim?" Jaden asked, as his eyes widened in part excitement part horror.

"Stop sounding so excited you Slifer-slacker!" Chazz retorted.

Alexis ignored them and decided to input her opinion. "The only way we'd know if this is the kidnapper's doing or just some kids fiddling around with symbols is if we figure out all the places that the missing students were at and see if there are any more markings."

"Great idea!" Jaden exclaimed.

Syrus looked hesitant and just continued to stare at the markings. They were definitely unusual, but he hoped they weren't ritual markings like Jaden suggested. However, it could be that whoever the kidnapper was, was like one of the Shadow Riders. The Shadow Riders weren't exactly human either, especially not the vampiress Camula. Sy shivered in remembrance. Perhaps it was ancient Egyptian language since Duel Monsters came from Egypt long ago and whenever a supernatural or dangerous event occurred it had to do with Duel Monsters.

"Sy, what's up?" Jaden asked.

Blinking, he realized he had been staring at it for some time. Feeling awkward, he glanced up and noticed that everyone was staring at him.

"Well…it's just…maybe this has something to do with Duel Monsters, like before. It seems whenever trouble comes it's always about some supernatural force that has to do with dueling, like the sacred beast cards."

"It's a good theory," Bastion nodded. "We won't be able to figure it out so easily, though. There's not much to go on. All we know is that if students keep disappearing this academy could be shut down permanently."

"Yeah and we already had enough trouble before when students were disappearing because of the Shadow Riders and when freaky things were happening," Alexis added. "One more thing and I'm sure Kaiba's school is going to go under with a bad reputation."

"And if his school has a bad reputation it'll probably make a bad impression on him," Jaden said.

"What should we do?" Sy asked uncertainly.

"How about we go back?" Chumley finally spoke up, having been resting on another rock.

Zane nodded in agreement. "We should all get some rest now. It's clear the kidnapper isn't out tonight. We'll have to do more explorations some other time."

His eyes gazed over at Jaden who smiled nervously and nodded. "Alright, I can take a hint. We're going back now."

Sy followed his friend as they all began heading back to their dorms. As they each split up, no one said a word; they all seemed to be lost in thought. Jaden was the only one to say goodbye to everyone before he walked alongside Sy and Chumley toward the Slifer dorms. Yawning, Jaden blinked blearily and smiled.

"Well that was exciting, huh?"

"Yeah…," Sy trailed off.

"Hey, did you guys really go skinny-dipping?" Chumley asked, having been resting a ways away so he wasn't there to witness it.

Sy's face immediately turned crimson and he shook his head firmly. "Of course not! Do you believe everything you hear!"

Jaden just laughed and shrugged. "Well, we almost were, I guess."

Light grey eyes blinked in surprise at him and Jaden caught the look and smiled, winking. "Come on, how about we have a midnight snack and then go to bed."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Chumley agreed.

Sy, having been fighting down a blush, sighed heavily and nodded. "Alright…but then we have to get to bed or we'll be late again tomorrow. And this time, I bet we'll get detention for sure. If my mom finds out, she'll kill me."

"That's fine with me! I'll get up on time and then catch up on sleep during class," Jaden grinned, holding up his peace sign.

Sy glowered at him in annoyance. "And how is it that you're one of the top duelists?"

Jaden laughed softly and put his arm around him, bringing him close. He didn't notice Sy's faint blush as they made their way back to the dorms. And as they entered the dorms, Sy shut and locked the door immediately while Jaden and Chumley went to get the food. Sighing, he knew it was going to be awhile before his friends finally decided to go to bed. There was no way they were going to wake up on time.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

**Hey all! Again, this is my first yu-gi-oh gx story, but I have written original yu-gi-oh stories. Anywhoo, I hope to update this asap! And for those that didn't read the note at the top, there will be Syrus/Jaden. This story doesn't focus mainly on romance though, but it'll still be included:-)**

**Oh and I'm sorry for those that wanted me to use their Japanese names. I know it'd be easier, but since most people reading stories on FF read and speak English, I decided to stick with the English names to make it easier for everyone. Anywhoo, that's all!**


	2. Detention Detour

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 1: Detention Detour **

The week went by too slow for both Jaden and Syrus. Because Sy, Jaden and Chumley had been late five times in a row to Dr. Crowler's class they had received detention for that night. Glowering as they walked out of the history class, Sy slumped against the nearest wall, waiting for Jaden to adjust his books. Chumley was staring at the clock obviously anticipating their lunch time.

"There!" Jaden grinned, shoving his last book into the bag. "Hey, Sy, why do you look so down?"

He sent his friend an irritated glare. "Isn't it obvious, J? We have detention! And it had to be Friday night too!" Sy exclaimed, sighing heavily.

His shoulders remained slumped in disappointment as the three of them headed to the cafeteria. Thankfully, they weren't required to eat with only the Slifers in the small Slifer lounge; the cafeteria was a new feature for all dorms to be able to eat together, though some, like the Obelisk blue students, preferred to eat in their own dorm lounges.

"Look on the bright side, at least we have next week off," he grinned, swinging his arm around the blunette's shoulders.

Chumley blinked owlishly and glanced at him. "Why do we have it off? I mean, it's nearing spring, but we've already had spring break."

"It's because of the seniors, like Zane," Jaden explained, keeping his arm around Sy's shoulder. "Their practice finals are coming up the week after and if they do really good on them, the written test for graduation, then that means they don't have to take another one when the end of the year comes in June. They'll only have to worry about winning a duel, which to me is a piece of cake!"

"Yeah, to you," Sy said glumly.

Jaden blinked down at him, sensing his distress. He pulled him closer so he was in a one-armed hug as they walked.

"You're worried about your final year already? We still have another year after this one."

"I know," the smaller boy sighed, gazing up at him sadly. "But what if I don't improve anymore? I'll never make it in the dueling world."

"Come on Sy! You've got plenty of skills," Jaden smiled. "I know you'll be just fine; I believe in you. And no matter if we have to split up for a while after we graduate we'll always keep in touch and get together whenever we have the chance!"

"Hey what about me?" Chum asked.

"You too of course chum!" Jaden grinned. "We're inseparable."

Syrus blushed at that and felt Jaden pull him even closer. He glanced around to see some people looking at them as they passed. With Jaden so close to him there was no doubt people might begin to think they were more than friends. His cheeks darkened and Jaden peered at his face curiously.

"You feeling alright Sy? You look a little red."

"I'm fine, really," Sy smiled nervously, waving it aside. "So, uh, do you want to have a duel monsters match during detention?"

"Sure," Jaden grinned, his eyes twinkling.

Syrus felt his stomach flip in response. Jaden obviously was planning something else as well. They entered the lunch room and sat down with some other students. As he ate, he found that students were no longer focusing on the disappearances. For an entire week or so there hadn't been any more strange kidnappings. It was probably because no one walked around outside when it was past bedtime anymore. Either way, he felt a little better about it, although he wondered what happened to the other students who had yet to turn up.

Zane, Bastion and Alexis had gone to the principal's office the day after all of them had found the strange markings. The principal didn't think they had anything to do with the students' disappearances. He had told them, from what Alexis had explained, that although Duel Academy had only been open for five years the grounds on which it stood was much older. It was a deserted and barren island before Kaiba had claimed it and fixed it up. Principal Sheppard said the markings were probably left from kids long, long ago who used to live in a village there or something. Alexis said it was hard to believe any life could've lived on it many years ago because it had been barren for at least a century, unable to grow new grass or anything.

Kaiba, however, used a high-tech chemical to force the roots to grow again and had trees and bushes planted in there by hand by his workers. Bastion's theory was that perhaps a war had taken place on it those many years ago and the chemicals from the weapons had caused all life on the island to cease growing and made it so all life withered away. Jaden and Sy had been intrigued by that after they had been told. Jaden tried to look up the history of the place (which meant actually doing research and that stunned both Sy and Chumley) but nothing much was written except what Kaiba had done. It was basically all dedicated to Kaiba—no past information from before was found.

Lunch was soon over and Sy's thoughts were interrupted by the realization that they had to go across campus to the auditorium for a school meeting. The three of them hurried, knowing the principal hated tardy students, especially during a meeting. Sy smiled inwardly, thinking of how he'd get to see his brother again. He knew at times it seemed like he was the type to smother and suffocate his big brother, but the truth was that he was going to miss him when he graduated. He knew Zane really wanted to go into the championship dueling so he would most likely be traveling all over the world entering into professional tournaments, which meant he would only be home for holidays. Although he knew the day would come when he and his brother had to go separate ways for their own careers, he never imagined it would be so soon. Even in the past when they hadn't gotten along, Sy could never imagine being so far away from him.

**XXXXX**

_Later on…7:10 p.m._

"Wow, that was a good meal," Jaden grinned as he patted his stomach. "Dinner is my favorite!"

"All meals are your favorite, J," Sy answered casually.

"No joke," Chumley piped out, still finishing off his own plate.

The three of them were sitting in their small room, having brought up dinner from the cafeteria. Sy was slumped against one of the beds and Jaden was lying on the rug. Chumley was seated nearby with his plate pulled close as he continued to eat.

"So, are you guys off to detention?" Chumley asked with a mouthful.

Jaden sat up in surprise as Sy turned to look at Chum with a confused expression.

"Hey, you got detention too," Sy complained.

"Yeah, but Dr. Crowler told me I didn't have to go. He said he knew you two were the real troublemakers and I was just a helpless victim."

"Helpless victim!" Sy retorted hotly. "He makes us sound like criminals!"

Jaden sighed heavily. "It's because of me; Dr. Crowler really hates me."

Sy's gaze traveled over to him and he crossed his arms. "Well why did I get detention?"

"Because he knows how close we are; he thinks we're two peas in a pod so whatever trouble I get in he includes you too," Jaden smiled mysteriously.

"Why are you smiling?" Sy exclaimed dramatically. "Zane's going to kill me when he finds out!" he threw his arms up over his head, groaning.

Jaden crawled over to him and put a warm hand on his arm, causing Sy to glance at him a bit startled. They locked eyes and Sy realized it was harder than usual to keep eye contact.

"Don't worry, Sy. It'll be alright. Your brother can be cool so maybe he won't mind. Besides, we'll make the best of this detention," he said, giving him a small wink.

Sy felt his cheeks heat up instantly. Jaden often winked when he was joking around, but what exactly had he meant?

"Time to go Sy. We better hurry or we'll be late for detention. And then we might really be in trouble," Jaden laughed as Sy shook his head humorlessly.

Dragging his feet behind the energetic boy, Sy waved to Chumley as they walked out of the door. Thankfully they weren't late, but Dr. Crowler had an unusually pleasant expression on his face as they entered the classroom.

"Welcome slackers," he said opening his arms as if mocking them. "You two will remain here for three hours and clean the room top to bottom. I want to see it shine when I come back. Oh yes, and fill out this pop quiz on the chapter we reviewed during this week," his grin widened as his girlish hand gestured to the paper sitting idly on his desk. "I will be back in exactly three hours. If you are gone, or have not completed either of these tasks I will punish you both severely. As in possibly being expelled!" he emphasized with a cool glance toward them.

"What! Just for being tardy five times! The principal wouldn't allow that!" Sy piped up in shock with his fists clenched. Dr. Crowler was definitely being a cruelly biased wom—man.

Dr. Crowler's grin faded. "Yes, you're right…it's a shame I'm not principal. But if you don't finish these tasks and you fool around you will be punished. Oh, and I'm locking you in to make sure you don't escape…I mean leave."

"You can't lock us in! What if I have to go to the bathroom?" Sy crossed his arms.

"FINE!" Dr. Crowler scowled. "But if I find you gone you will be forced by the principal to serve detention with me for the rest of the year! And trust me when I say I'll make it very unpleasant!"

"Oh, we trust you," Jaden grinned.

Dr. Crowler sent him a glare but cleared his throat. "You may begin," he said and walked out of the room and shut the door.

"We have to do a pop quiz and clean! This isn't detention it's slave labor!" Sy exclaimed furiously.

Jaden laughed softly and wrapped an around his shoulders. "Relax, I have a plan. You took some notes on the history lesson, right?"

"Well yeah…but I didn't bring them."

"He never said we couldn't use notes. We'll go get your notes, finish the quiz and then we'll drag the emergency hose in here to wash everything. It'll take two minutes to get everything wet. Then while it's drying we can sneak out for a little fun," Jaden's lips curled into a victorious grin.

Sy blanched. "Are you serious? What if the hose doesn't work?"

"It will, trust me. Dr. Crowler never said how we should clean it. If he said to use a toothbrush we'd be in trouble. And once everything dries it'll look as good as new."

"I guess, but what if he finds out?" Sy asked nervously.

Smiling, Jaden shook his head. "It won't matter since he didn't specify how we should finish his cruel punishments."

"But what if he comes back when we're away?"

"Trust me. Dr. Crowler is most likely going to the teacher's lounge where they have tons of food and a Jacuzzi. Knowing him he'll fall asleep and forget about us, but we only need to stay here for three hours. We'll just make sure we'll get back in time in case he does come."

Sy sighed, giving in. "Alright, J…but this better not backfire like your other schemes."

Jaden just laughed in response and shook his head. Sy followed him out back to their dorm room, peering around corners just to make sure Dr. Crowler wasn't lurking nearby. When they arrived, Chum was fast asleep. They grabbed Sy's notes and Jaden pulled the emergency fire hose from their room. When they got back, Sy began working on the quiz while Jaden plugged in the hose in one of the holes. Each room had to have a hose plug in case of a fire. Once it was plugged in, Jaden sprayed all over the seats, the floor, the desk (nearly getting Sy with it as he wrote the answers down), and everything else. He didn't have all the answers since Dr. Crowler's lecture had been so long and complex, but he was certain they'd at least pass with a B. It took all of ten minutes to finish the quiz and soak the entire room. Jaden rolled the hose back up and they crept back to their room to put it back, along with Sy's notes. Then, laughing, the two boys made their way away from the building.

"I can't believe it was so easy!" Sy chirped as they ran. "I just hope Dr. Crowler's too busy relaxing to check on us ahead of time."

"I'll bet he is," Jaden grinned, leading the way. "Come on!"

"Where are we going?" Sy asked, following close behind him.

Jaden smiled but didn't answer. The sun was low in the sky, but being since it was just about spring it wasn't quite ready to set. Sy glanced up at the sky loving how it changed colors as it became darker. He was a little too entranced for he didn't realize Jaden had stopped and just about crashed into him. Blinking, Sy glanced around and realized they were at the hot springs.

"The hot spr—Jaden, what are you doing!" Sy exclaimed, blushing crimson.

Jaden had begun stripping himself of his clothes until he was again down to his underwear. He slipped into the steaming hot water and sighed contently. Sy turned away momentarily, still flustered by Jaden's lack of modesty.

"Come on in, Sy, it's great!" Jaden grinned, wading around in the water.

"I don't know…we could get in trouble," Sy bit his lip nervously.

That was only part of the reason why he didn't want to go in. The other part was because it was just like before when it had been dark out and Chazz had claimed they had been skinny-dipping together. Just that thought in his mind made it hard for him to imagine being in the water with so little clothes on right next to the taller boy. Glancing into Jaden's pleading face, Sy finally sighed reluctantly and nodded.

"Okay, but don't look."

Jaden blinked then tilted his head. "It's not like your taking off your underwear too, unless…," he trailed off.

"No!" Sy exclaimed, glaring at him while trying to hide his blush. "I am not taking off my underwear! It's just…well, I'm a little more modest than you are."

Jaden grinned and gave him the peace sign. "Haha, I guess so."

Sy waited until Jaden turned around being since there was no darkness to hide his body. He then slipped his clothing off and gently eased into the water, squeaking at the suddenly change of temperature. Jaden faced him once he heard him enter and then he waded toward him.

"Feels good, huh?"

"Yeah," he nodded, easing the rest of his body deeper.

Jaden sent him a little splash and Sy sputtered, sending him a glare and then a splash in return. Jaden laughed and sent a huge wave over him then began swimming away.

"Gotta catch me, Sy!" he laughed.

Fuming, Sy swam after him, chasing him and splashing water to seek his revenge. Their game lasted some time and soon Sy had to stop and rest by a rock to catch his breath. Jaden swam over to him gently, feeling rather tired as well.

"That was fun!" he said. "You know, it was almost as fun as duel monsters."

"Glad you had fun," Sy muttered, glaring because he hadn't been able to keep up with him.

Jaden laughed and then suddenly his smile faded. "Sy…I…," he trailed off, clutching the rock.

Sy stared at his friend, his annoyance disappearing as he saw the concern etched into his face. "What's the matter? Is the water too hot?"

With a slow shake of his head, Jaden waded away from the rock. "I have to tell you something."

A surprised expression shone on Sy's face as he waded toward his friend. "Okay, what is it?"

It was very rare to see Jaden without a gleam in his eye or a big grin on his face so it was disconcerting for Sy to see him looking so…uncertain about something. At first he didn't say anything and continued to wade slowly around in circles, as if thinking of how to word his thoughts. Finally, Jaden stopped and Sy stared at him seriously as he continued to wade nearby.

"Sy, I know we've been friends for almost two years now and I was wondering if—hey! What was that?" Jaden exclaimed suddenly.

A bit taken aback, Sy noticed that they were swimming in the same area that they had been the last time—the same place where he had felt something strange underwater and reacted much like Jaden just had.

"Jaden, get away! There might be something in the water!" Sy exclaimed fearfully as he waded quickly toward his friend.

The brown-haired boy was looking down in the water and keeping afloat in that one spot with a curious expression. Sy reached out and grasped his arm trying to pull him away.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Sy. I bet it was just some underwater curre—AHGH!" Jaden's sentence was abruptly cut off as his mouth suddenly filled with water. His entire body was suddenly submerged and Sy let out a sharp cry of surprise but was taken down with him since he was still holding onto his arm.

The underwater current, as Jaden was about to say, was pulling them so strongly that they had no hope of fighting back and reaching the surface. Sy kept a deathly tight grip on Jaden's arm, not wanting to be separated in case something bad happened. He struggled violently under water, trying to fight back even when he knew he wasn't strong enough. He had been so surprised that neither he nor Jaden took a deep breath and they were rapidly running out of oxygen. Jaden's arms were flailing as he was pulled farther and deeper down but he managed to also grab onto Sy and pulled him into a tight embrace so their bodies were up against one another. Sy wrapped his smaller arms around him, staring into his face with terror; he didn't want to drown. Jaden tried to comfort him by holding him close, but his lungs were about to burst as well.

Sy suddenly opened his mouth under water in surprise and almost inhaled water, but had the sense not to breathe in. He pointed shakily and Jaden glanced down, seeing an underwater tunnel where the strong current was headed toward. Gripping onto the smaller boy with even more strength so they wouldn't part, Jaden fought to hold his breath just a little bit longer. Sy unfortunately couldn't hold his breath as long; he looked just about ready to burst.

Fear struck him as he saw Sy's eyes begin to roll back and out of instinct, Jaden pulled him in even closer and forced his lips over the other boy's. Slowly, he blew the last of his oxygen into Sy's mouth as they were swallowed inside the tunnel. Just when Jaden thought his lungs would give, they were thrown up suddenly somewhere else where there was a surface above them. Jaden swam quickly with Sy in his arms and reached the surface just as his lips could no longer keep shut.

Gasping for breath, Jaden used his remaining strength to pull him and Syrus toward a place they could get up out of the water. There was a shallow pool of water that allowed them to stand up and easily reach a slope that was partly submerged. Sy coughed and sputtered, trying to calm his heavy breathing and racing heart.

As they crawled up out of the water and onto the slope, Jaden rested up against a stone wall. He leaned his head back and continued taking deep breaths. Sy slumped down on the cold, stone floor and lay resting for several minutes. He then sat up, albeit slowly and gently raised his gaze toward Jaden. He saw the other boy still breathing heavily and resting with his eyes shut. Biting on his lip quite hard, Sy nervously wrung his hands together.

"J…are you alright?"

Familiar brown eyes peered over at him and Jaden nodded.

"Yeah, Sy, I'm alright. Are you?"

"I am…t-thanks to you," Sy said quietly as he glanced at the ground to hide his blush.

Being underwater and about ready to pass out, he didn't notice Jaden's lips were upon his until they had reached the surface. Then it clicked and Sy had been too speechless to say anything. Although they had been submerged, he had still felt the warmth coming from Jaden's lips and it caused shivers up his back. Glancing up at his friend shyly, he waited for him to respond.

"Of course, what are friends for," Jaden winked, smiling at him.

Sy's heart sank a little and he nodded. He now couldn't deny he had wanted to hear something a little different. Then again, maybe it was for the best. After all, their friendship was one of a kind and he didn't want to lose that.

"So, where are we?" he changed the subject abruptly.

Jaden blinked out of his daze and stood up. "No clue. I didn't know there was anything beneath the hot springs."

Sy stood up as well and his eyes caught sight of something. "J, look there."

The taller boy's brown eyes followed his and he stepped forward with interest. "It looks like an entry way. Maybe it's a tunnel or something."

Sy gulped and stepped back. "Um…maybe we should stay here and wait for help."

"Come on Sy, no one even knows we're here. Besides, it could be a way out."

Reluctantly, Sy nodded knowing Jaden was right. They really had no choice except to explore the strange underground cavern. He just hoped nothing scary lived down there. Jaden approached the small opening and gestured for him to follow. Taking a deep breath, Sy obliged and hurried to catch up with him.

The tunnel was dark and narrow, making Sy even more uncomfortable. He hesitantly reached for Jaden's arm. The taller boy glanced over his shoulder when he felt him touch his arm, but gave him a reassuring smile. The passage wasn't very long but it was becoming more narrow. There was a small space to slip through at the end. Once they slipped through, Sy had to blink to try and get adjusted to the pitch black. He heard Jaden begin to move, like he was searching for something.

"J?" Sy called out nervously while groping for his friend.

"Ouch! Sy, I'm over here. I think I found something…like a torch."

"A torch? Where are you?" Sy called out, feeling his way around.

"Over here. Follow my voice."

Sy began walking clumsily in the dark. Something collided with his foot and he nearly tipped over.

"Is that you, J?" he called out, bending down to feel.

"What? Sy, I'm over here."

Sy's hands roamed around him and he stopped cold. The thing his foot hit was fairly large. Feeling around, Sy brushed his hands against something rough…almost like…clothing. His fingers touched a cold, clammy hand and he let out a loud shriek.

"J! Jaden!" Sy screamed, stumbling backward.

He tripped over his own feet and fell over. A warm hand brushed up against him and Sy lunged for it to catch his balance. His arms swung around a waist, catching the figure by surprise. Unexpectedly, he collapsed on top of another body; a warm and definitely alive body.

"Help! Something's got me!" Sy screamed, struggling against the arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Sy—ouch! Calm down, it's me," Jaden's voice rang by his ear.

The smaller boy stopped struggling realizing he had acted a bit like a scaredy-cat. He hated to admit he wasn't very brave, although he really wanted to be. However, his embarrassment was replaced by something different when he realized he was on top of Jaden and they were both clad in only their underwear. His head was resting against Jaden's chest awkwardly and he felt familiar strong, warm arms wrapped around his body and pressing him close into the warm body beneath him. Sy was blushing madly and couldn't seem to breathe even as he felt Jaden pull them both into a sitting position.

"J-Jaden, there's a b-body over there," Sy whispered, horrified.

"A body?" Jaden asked, sounding surprised but intrigued.

Sy couldn't make out the expression on his face; he could just about see the outline of him.

"Maybe the body has some matches we can use to light the torch," Jaden said as he began to stand up, allowing Sy to slide off him.

"Be careful," Sy whispered.

He heard Jaden walking across the floor then he heard the sound of clothes rustling. He waited in a tense silence listening for sounds that would tell him Jaden was alright.

"Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed in the dark. "I found a lighter. Now it's time to light this place up."

Sy tried not to tremble, scared there might be more than one body. He heard Jaden moving away and then heard the lighter clicking. Suddenly, a small flame ignited after several attempts and Sy could just barely make out Jaden's hand lowering toward the torch. The torch ignited with flames and the room already seemed much brighter.

"You did it, J," Sy said. "But there still isn't much light," he said, glancing nervously where the body was still shrouded in darkness.

"Maybe there are more torches. Then I—"

Jaden was cut off as torches around the room suddenly lit up in flames. Sy jumped, covering his mouth in surprise. They were lighting up on their own. The room was soon shining in the dim light and Sy's eyes caught sight of the body on the floor. It was an older boy, only a year or so older than he. That wasn't the worst part; he was wearing an obelisk blue bathing suit. It had to have been one of the missing students.

"J-Jaden! It's a missing student!"

"I know, take a look over here, Sy."

Turning, Sy let out a surprised sound and covered his mouth. Several other bodies lay in the room on the other side; two boys from Ra yellow and a girl from the obelisk dorm.

"Isn't that…Mindy's friend?" Sy asked softly, seemingly pale.

"Yeah," Jaden said, bending down at her side. "She's not dead though. She's still breathing."

"Are you sure? Maybe the kidnapper wants us to think that. Maybe we've fallen into his trap!" Sy exclaimed wide-eyed.

Jaden glanced up at him in partial amusement, knowing Sy was sometimes dramatic and easily scared. Giving him a reassuring smile to calm him down, Jaden shook his head.

"I don't think there is a kidnapper at all, Sy. I think each of them must've been pulled down by the current like we were."

"But…why are they not moving? I mean, they've been missing for days. Don't you think they would've tried to signal for help? And what about the two students that came back acting really weird and who seemingly lost their memory?"

"I'm not sure, but I bet it has something to do with this place," Jaden stated without a doubt. "Obviously, since two students came back, there's a way out of this place. Unfortunately, I think these four might have gotten knocked out pretty hard. Thankfully they didn't drown though. We should explore and see if there are any clues."

"What if we end up losing our minds!"

"Well," Jaden grinned, tilting his head, "we're alright so far. Besides, we have to help them. If we find a way out then we can go get help."

"Yeah," Sy quietly responded half-heartedly.

Jaden caught the sad look on his face and approached him. "Hey, don't worry, Sy; I'll be here for you."

"It's not that," Sy whispered, glancing down. "It's just…," he sighed again. "Never mind."

Although Sy dropped the subject, Jaden could still tell something was bothering him. "Are you sure?"

The blunette nodded slowly and Jaden gently smiled at him. "Come on; let's find a way out."

Together they looked around the room, searching for a way out. It seemed that there were no other doors or anything in the room except the passage they came from. Sy was beginning to feel nervous again not wanting to be trapped in there forever.

"This is strange; how did the others get out?" Jaden wondered aloud, as he traced his fingers over the wall.

"I don't know, J…but I hope we find it. I don't want to be stuck in here."

Jaden turned and gave him a smile, wanting to cheer him up. "Aw, would it really be so bad in here with me?"

Sy's eyes widened in response and he quickly looked away. Jaden's smile faded into a curious expression; Sy was definitely acting unusual. For about twenty minutes they searched the entire room and found nothing. Finally, Sy slumped on the floor and buried his head in his hands.

"It's hopeless!" he said with frustration. "There's no way out!"

Jaden's eyes narrowed in thought. "Hold on, Sy…Don't you remember the torches lit up by themselves?"

Sy glanced up and nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, so?"

"So they must've been triggered by something," Jaden said, as excitement rose in his voice.

With interest, Sy watched him approach the very first torch he had lit and examined it. For a few minutes, Jaden just circled it looking for something. He gave up and went to the next torch, where he did the same thing. Sy just sat quietly on the floor watching and hoping that Jaden would save them again. It was always Jaden who really saved the day in the end. Although his brother, Alexis, Chazz and Bastion all held keys to the three rare cards in the past, it was Jaden who ended up defeating each Shadow Rider. There was no doubt he had the potential of the next Yuugi Mutoh. Where would he go though? Sure, he had better grades than Jaden, but in the long-run that wouldn't matter in the Championships.

"Ah ha!" Jaden announced, breaking Sy from his thoughts.

Very slowly, Jaden reached his hand around the third torch and a soft click echoed. Suddenly the torch's flames blew out and a chunk of the wall it was against sunk into the stone then slowly it began to turn, revealing another passageway. Hurriedly getting up, Sy approached it and stared at it uncertainly.

"Come on, Sy!" Jaden grinned.

Sy glanced down and sighed. "J…what about the students?"

"We'll come back for them. Right now we have to find a way out," he said, stretching his hand out toward him.

Feeling a bit nervous still, Sy grasped his hand and followed him through another dark passage. As they walked down another curvy and narrow tunnel, Sy noticed that it was slowly becoming lighter. He could even see the end of the passage as they approached it. Carefully, Jaden squeezed through the exit with Sy right behind him.

"Whoa," Jaden whispered aloud.

Sy who had been busy brushing cobwebs off his arm looked up and almost choked on the stale air. It was a much larger room than the last one except that it actually had some pieces of what looked like stone furniture. Some were cracked and covered with dust, but it looked like a room that had once been occupied—almost like they had stumbled upon an ancient, buried civilization. Examining what he could see in the dim light, Sy noticed there were other small passageways around, some of them high up in the walls.

A lot of the walls looked cracked and old, like they were ready to crumble. Even the ceiling looked as though rocks had fallen on top of it, pinning it into place. It was no wonder it had been buried for so long; it was buried under rubble. It must have been sealed away long ago and a hot spring was built over the new soil that had accumulated, hiding the worn-down pieces of a building way below ground. It seemed Seto Kaiba either didn't care about it or he didn't find it.

"This place looks like an old room," Jaden grinned. "It must be thousands of years old. Can you imagine if we're the only ones who found it?"

"But we're probably not. Those missing students probably found it first…I think," Sy said, still wondering how they had been knocked out hard enough to be out for days.

"Maybe, but so far we're awake and in good health," Jaden smiled mischievously.

Sy knew that smile anywhere; Jaden was just itching to figure out who the building belonged to and why it was stuck underground. They didn't have time for becoming archaeologists; they had to get out.

"Jaden," Sy said quietly, "there doesn't seem to be a way out. Let's try another passage."

"Hold on Sy. This wall over here has some scratch marks in it or something," Jaden said, going to one of the walls. "Hey, check this out."

Sighing, Sy walked over to where he was pointing and saw the strange markings. "They look like the same ones on the rock."

"Exactly," Jaden's eyes lit up as he glanced down at him. "Doesn't it make you wonder how the same markings all the way down here got up above the surface on that rock?"

"Um…a little, but I think we better not touch anything. This cave might collapse at any time it's so old," Sy bit his lip in worry. "Besides, Jaden, we have to get help, remember?"

His smile faded into a disappointed expression but he nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's look around for another secret passage or something. I mean, this room had to have been built for something, right? There must be a way out."

"Yes, unless the exit was crushed long ago when it was buried underground," Sy pointed out as he searched the walls. "Um…J?"

"What is it?" Jaden asked even as he tapped on the stone.

Sy bit his lip again and felt his eyes dim. "I just…um…about when you saved me," he began nervously.

Jaden glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah? If you're thinking of paying me back, don't worry about it. It's free of charge," he joked.

Shaking his head humorlessly, Sy stopped searching the walls and turned to face, albeit reluctantly. "Jaden, I'm sorry…I was being really stupid. I mean, I know you were trying to save me and we both were going to drown and…"

"Whoa, Sy, calm down," Jaden said, blinking as he too stopped tapping. "What is it?"

As his eyes dimmed, Sy glanced downward. "I was a little surprised, that's all," he said quietly. "I mean, I knew I was drowning but…I don't know, I thought it…it was a…," Sy hesitated in embarrassment.

"You thought it was what?" Jaden asked, staring at him curiously.

"I…I t-thought you were k-kissing me. I don't know why…I just…wasn't thinking and I forgot we were underwater until we reached the surface," Sy explained quietly, not able to reach Jaden's eyes.

His heart was pounding and he felt incredibly embarrassed. No doubt Jaden would think it was funny, how he took it the wrong way. After all, Jaden was always making jokes, even in the worst of situations.

"Well, I suppose we were, in a way."

Sy's head jerked up in surprise and he stared into Jaden's eyes. Jaden shrugged and leaned his arm against the wall. "I mean, I did put my lips on yours. That is technically a kiss."

"I know but I'm sorry for being surprised by it. I mean, you saved my life and all," Sy said softly as he glanced back down.

Jaden's smile faded and he slowly began to approach him. "Sy, is that what's really bothering you?"

As Jaden came closer, Sy felt his cheeks heat up. He couldn't say anything as the distance was closed between them and Jaden was staring at him in wonder.

"Is it because you're embarrassed about it? I won't tell anyone or anything."

"It's not that," Sy said, gazing up at him shyly. "It's not that I'm…ashamed, Jaden. It's that…I…," Sy trailed off, freezing as their eyes locked together.

There was no way he could tell Jaden that he had liked it. After all, what if Jaden didn't feel the same way? What if their friendship was ruined because of it? What was he doing! He couldn't risk their friendship; they were closer than anyone. And Sy knew there was no way he'd find another friend like Jaden.

"Sy, why are you crying?" Jaden asked softly, bending toward him.

The subtle tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes were almost unnoticeable. Sy sniffled and he felt warm hands on his shoulders. He glanced up into Jaden's eyes uncertainly.

"Jaden, I…I don't want to lose you as a friend."

Jaden blinked in surprise then gave him a goofy grin. "Hey now, I told you everything would be alright."

"That's not what I mean," Sy interrupted and Jaden stared at him intensely. "It's that…I felt…I mean, we're such close friends, I…I don't want that to change. A-and when you saved me…for a minute I thought it would."

Jaden's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you thought it was a romantic kiss then? And you thought that would change our friendship?"

Nodding softly, Sy finally gazed into his face evenly. "I'm sorry, I know it wasn't an actual kiss but I was afraid you'd…I don't know, not want to be my friend anymore."

He was surprised when Jaden laughed softly. "Sy, we'll always be friends no matter what. A little kiss wouldn't change that," he grinned, winking.

Sy tried not to blush and bit on his bottom lip in fear. If they'd be friends no matter what, perhaps he should tell him. "J-J…do you really mean that?"

"Of course," he grinned down at him.

"Were you…um…embarrassed by kissing me?" Sy asked quietly, looking up at him gently.

Jaden blinked and slowly he shook his head, a soft smile on his face. "No. I'd be embarrassed if I were forced to kiss Chazz, but not you."

"Is it because we're best friends?" Sy asked, feeling his stomach flip.

"Yeah, I guess," Jaden scrunched his face in thought. "Sy, what is it you want to tell me? Are you sure nothing else is bothering you?"

"Jaden, I liked the kiss," Sy blurted out, covering his mouth after he did so.

Blinking owlishly, Jaden closed his mouth, having been about to say something. He stared at Sy who gently lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, J. It's just…recently I've felt something different around you. And I was scared that maybe it was a sign something would happen to our friendship. And then I thought something different after Chazz said that to us and…I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.

He held in his tears, not wanting to be a cry baby. Jaden wasn't the kind of person to just dump his as a friend, but he didn't want him to treat him differently either. Perhaps it would've been best to keep his thoughts to himself. And now he had said them aloud and he was terrified of what might happen.

"Sy," Jaden said evenly.

Slowly, Sy gazed up at him, wiping at his eyes to stop any tears from falling. Jaden was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Slowly, he took his arms off Sy's shoulders and the blunette felt his heart plummet. He couldn't stop the tears as they fell and soon he was crying.

"J-Jaden, I'm sorry, please don't hate me."

"Hey, why are you crying?" he heard Jaden ask softly as he pulled him into an embrace.

Blinking through his blurry vision, Sy gazed up at him and saw Jaden was smiling. He wiped at his eyes and tried to put on a brave face.

"Do you still want to be friends with me, J?"

"Of course Sy. Where'd you get a crazy idea that I didn't?" Jaden smiled again.

"But…I just told you I liked the kiss…I just thought you'd maybe be uncomfortable with that," Sy sniffled.

"I'm not uncomfortable," Jaden laughed softly. "I mean, it'll be a bit hard to explain to your brother, but—"

"My brother? Wait, explain what?" Sy blinked. "Are you going to tell him about it?"

"Not unless you want me to," Jaden said honestly. "Actually, I was talking about the fact that it would be hard for your brother to accept us dating, don't you think?"

Sy's face turned crimson. "D-dating?"

"Well, when you said kiss I assumed you meant us dating," Jaden grinned widely.

"Jaden, I'm confused. What are you saying?" Sy asked, trying to grasp what had just happened.

"I'm saying, Sy, that I've felt it too," Jaden said quietly, his goofy grin fading into a more serious expression. "I've felt something different with our friendship for a while now. And I admit I didn't think that it was a kiss, but now that you pointed that out I've thought about it. And it wasn't weird at all to kiss you. I mean, I didn't really feel much underwater, but from what I could feel it wasn't awkward."

"So…what does that mean?" Sy asked softly, feeling his nerves rattling. He was trying to understand what Jaden was saying.

"Well, we could…you know, date and see how it goes," Jaden smiled nervously, tilting his head. "I mean, if we both didn't mind the kiss, maybe our friendship is something more."

Sy stared at him dumbfounded. "You want to…to date me?"

"Uh…well, is that too weird for you?" Jaden asked, laughing nervously. "I mean, I know I probably am not as hot as that one Ra girl you said was cute, but…"

"No, J! I like you!" Sy exclaimed, blushing right after he said that. "I mean…I want to…to try it."

Jaden blinked in surprise then slowly he smiled and nodded. "Alright, we'll try it. And if it gets too awkward for one of us we'll let the other know, deal?"

Sy glanced down at his hand and tried his best not to turn any redder. "Deal," he said softly. "Are you sure you want to, J? I mean…you could have any of those girls that have a crush on you?"

Jaden shrugged. "I doubt they understand me as much as you do. Besides, Sy, they might be pretty but whenever I talk with them it's not very interesting."

"Okay," Sy blushed. "But…do you think…I mean, what if it doesn't work out?"

"We'll still be friends," Jaden smiled encouragingly. "We were friends to start with, right?"

Sy's eyes lit up in relief. "Oh Jaden!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms tightly around his neck.

Jaden held onto him as well and they remained in their embrace for a few minutes. Sy pulled away slowly and met his gaze with a small blush.

"Um…J…do you think we should tell anyone?"

"We don't have to," Jaden said.

"It's just that…I don't want your reputation to be ruined by dating me."

"Sy," Jaden said, forcing him to look at him, "everyone knows we're tight. Who knows, maybe they even thought we were dating before. Just don't worry about what people think so much."

"I'll try," Sy said quietly.

Jaden smiled and nodded then he glanced up in surprise. "Uh oh…I bet our three hours of detention are almost up. And we still have to find a way out of here."

Sy looked up worriedly and bit his lip. "Jaden, in case anything happens and this place caves in or something," he said, as Jaden glanced down at him, "do you think…could I maybe have a kiss goodbye?"

"Sy, come on, don't think like that," Jaden said sternly. "We're going to get out of here," he said, gripping his shoulders tightly and Sy nodded. "But, I could kiss you anyway, if you'd like," he grinned.

"J-Jaden!" Sy blushed madly.

Grinning widely, Jaden bent down toward him and Sy felt his heart jump in his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited until he felt a warm pair of lips covering his own. He was so nervous that he didn't move or even kiss back for the first second. Finally, as Jaden wrapped his arms around him, Sy did the same and tilted his head. When he finally began to move his lips he still couldn't believe they were kissing. After being best friends for what seemed like forever, suddenly they were in a whole new situation with different emotions.

Jaden pushed closer causing Sy to stumble backward into the wall. He gasped, opening his mouth around Jaden's lips and soon felt the other boy's mouth open again and cover his. Sy shakily moved an arm to behind Jaden's head and their kiss deepened. Jaden made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a small sigh of content. Sy, blushing, realized they were still clad in only their underwear as their chests met.

He was a bit startled by the warm skin contact and pushed back harder into the wall. His free hand reached out and wrapped around Jaden's waist, pulling them even closer. Unexpectedly, Sy felt a tongue in his mouth and being a bit startled he jerked up, bonking heads with Jaden who stumbled and reached his arms from around Sy's waist to the wall to catch himself. As his fingers touched the wall he felt something strange. A sound echoed in the cavern, like something sliding against concrete. Feeling something move behind him, Sy let out a loud gasp as he felt his body falling backward. The wall behind him opened up and Sy slipped and fell, reaching out toward Jaden as he tumbled down.

"Syrus!" Jaden shouted, stumbling as he reached out his hand.

The wall suddenly began to close and Sy saw Jaden struggling to keep it open and find what he had pushed. He saw Jaden's frightened eyes lock with his once more before the wall closed up and Syrus continued spiraling downward, sliding down a rough slope that was leading him even deeper underground.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

To Reviewers: 

**Senachan141:** Great! It's my first time writing with them as a pairing, but I hope it'll be good. I do love the series! I'll update as soon as I can.

**Ronin32:** Thank you so much! Since you told me to write my own story, I decided that was a good idea. And since I was so inspired by your story, with the romance between Sy and Jaden (and Sy and Zane), I just got thinking. Thanks again and I hope you update your story soon!

**Ali: **Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far! I'll update when I can!

**Just Someone: **Lol! Yeah, I tend to write pretty long chapters. I hope there's not too much unnecessary detail. It's mostly dialogue I think. Anyway, I am glad you like it so far. I'll update asap! Oh yes, Sy definitely releases something. :-)

**Vulpix1000: **Thanks very much for that! I guess I just won't really talk about Banner anymore. The classes aren't important after this anyway. The adventure will soon begin so he won't even be in the picture. But thank you!

**PowHammer: **Yes, all my stories tend to have very long chapters. Sometimes I suppose they're longer than necessary but I don't want to leave out any information for you guys. :-)

**Coco** **Noodles Niccals:** :-) Thanks! I'll update asap!


	3. Hidden Sarcophagus

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 2: Hidden Sarcophagus **

Darkness surrounded him on every side; he could only hear the pounding of his heart since he reached the bottom of the sloped tunnel he had slid down. His back was aching because he had fallen on it and without a shirt on his skin had been grazed. He wasn't sure how to get back to Jaden or even if there was a way to get to him. All he knew was that he was trapped, scared and alone. He wasn't completely uneducated about past civilizations. In his old school before Duel Academy, he had been in a Western Civilization class and learned about a few ancient pharaohs (though he honestly didn't do very well in that class—always distracted by the fact that his brother was a senior there during that time and he just couldn't wait to see him even though Zane had been distant).

One story in particular settled into his mind in which some archaeologists went on an expedition for Anubus' tomb and instead dug up a burial chamber which had been used for prisoners back in ancient Egypt. They got trapped in there and were buried alive with sand. That thought alone frightened him even more than the darkness. What if there was no way out of the room? What if he had fallen into a trap and was to be buried alive? Letting out a sob, he shakily stood up and began to move cautiously. Feeling around with his hands, he touched a cold stone wall and felt his way around. He wasn't sure how large the room was or if he could find any light at all, but he couldn't sit around waiting for something to happen. Why did things like this always happen to him? He couldn't handle it as well as Jaden could. Jaden was the real hero; the reckless, charming, brave boy who had an innate talent for dueling, not Syrus. Part of him bet that even though he and Zane got along better now, that his big brother probably wished Syrus was still more like his best friend (or boyfriend rather).

"Stop feeling sorry for your-self, Sy," he scolded aloud. "If you want Zane and Jaden to be proud of you, you have to act stronger. Maybe this happened for a reason. For once I could be the one to be brave and help save those students."

Although doubt was filling him as he spoke, he kept feeling around hoping for some sign that he wasn't doomed. A sharp pain spread throughout his index finger and he let out a soft cry. His finger apparently found its way into a niche and was currently stuck. Wiggling it around, he realized it hurt to do that. Per usual he felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, but he fought them back as hard as he could. He wanted to prove to himself he could be brave. Carefully, he pushed his finger farther inside to see if there was more room for him to turn it and found that he brushed up against something cold.

Curiosity replaced his uncertainty and fear and soon he was groping with one finger inside the niche, trying to figure out what he was poking at. By rotating his hand, his index finger managed to grasp something by bending his first phalange (top bone of the finger). A cold, spherical object touched his skin and he slowly and very cautiously began to try and get his finger to slide the object out. He found that his finger still couldn't get through the mid-section of the niche; if only he knew which way to turn or bend his finger but everything he tried didn't seem to work. Sucking in a deep breath, he put his free hand against the wall and positioned his feet to keep balance while he tugged with more force. His finger budged slightly and he applied a bit more force. He was flung off balance as his finger popped out of the niche and the object went flying and hit the ground with a sharp sound. It sounded like it was made out of metal or some sort of organic material.

Groping around on the floor, Sy felt in the area that he heard it fall. His fingers touched something and he picked it up holding it firmly in one hand. It was definitely spherical; in fact it felt like…like a coin of some sort, but it was too dark to really make out any details. So as not to lose it, he held it tightly in his hand and then stood back up. Right when he was on his feet the walls began trembling. Sy made a frightened sound and stepped backward, trying not to panic. Had he triggered something? Perhaps there had been a hidden lever in the niche that he had accidentally brushed against. Something screeched against the floor and Sy jumped, letting out a terrified scream as he wheeled around in that direction. Sy assumed that it had been a part of the wall that suddenly opened up from what it sounded like. And he was quite certain what he was hearing next was something coming out of that wall.

Hiccupping from sucking in too much air out of fear, his feet shakily took steps backward. He heard something smacking against the floor very gently and felt like his heart was going to come up his throat. As he tried to push himself as far away as possible, he heard the sounds stop suddenly.

"Sy, are you in here?"

Releasing the breath he was holding, he let out a soft sob. "J-Jaden! Oh Jaden!"

"Are you alright, Sy?" he asked nervously. "Here, hold on, I brought a torch with me," he said, as Sy heard his footsteps get farther away for a minute before he returned with a dim torch.

His chest eased with relief and he hurriedly walked toward the light, finally seeing his friend. "Jaden!" he cried again, throwing his arms around him.

Jaden awkwardly patted his back with his free hand and smiled. "You didn't think I'd leave you here, did you?"

Wiping at his eyes, Sy shook his head. Jaden smiled once more at him then his gaze wandered to the room. "What is this place?"

"I don't know. How did you get in here?"

"I found another secret passage behind one of the other torches and I followed it here. Well…there were two tunnels and the first one led me to a very old room that almost collapsed on me, but I got out in time and then the other tunnel led me here. I wasn't sure you'd be in here or not though. Hey, what's that over there?" he said all of a sudden, walking forward with the torch stretched before him.

"Jaden, be careful! We don't know if there are any traps in this room," Sy said nervously, rushing to keep up with him.

Unfortunately, Jaden didn't seem to be worried about that as he shined the torch along the walls. The room only had a back wall with a large hieroglyphic of a man dressed in fancy robes wearing what appeared to be a crown. It was similar to some of the slides he had seen in the Western Civ. class.

"I think it's a drawing of a pharaoh," Sy said quietly, examining it alongside the other boy.

Jaden glanced at him and raised his eyebrows in interest. "Sweet! An Egyptian pharaoh. Weren't there like many different ones though?"

"Yeah, too many. I remember my teacher once said something about there being many dynasties; I'm certain pharaohs were around for thousands of years in Egypt, but…how would an Egyptian hieroglyphic be here? We're not in Egypt."

"That's a good question, Sy. I'm not sure, but this is definitely more interesting than class," he smiled brightly, raising the torch to get a good look at the pharaoh's face. "He kinda has the same expression Dr. Crowler has when he sees me, don't you think?"

Tilting his head, Sy could definitely see the resemblance, almost like the pharaoh looked cold and angry. "Yeah, a little."

"Hey, look!" Jaden exclaimed, pointing at the pharaoh's chest. "Does the necklace he's wearing seem to stand out a little too much to you?"

"Uh…maybe a little," Sy admitted nervously. "But we shouldn't—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jaden had already reached up a hand and touched it. It barely sunk in and Sy felt relieved until Jaden decided to try and turn it. Rotating it to the left, he lined up the foreign symbol pointing in the same direction as the pharaoh's hand. Then he pushed it inward and Sy grasped his arm tightly as it was pulled into the wall. To their surprise the wall appeared to open, splitting the image in half as a doorway appeared. The torch flickered as Jaden put it inside the small compartment. The room was definitely very small, even smaller than their dorm room. And only one piece of furniture remained in it.

"Eeek!" Sy's face paled as he clung even tighter to his boyfriend. "J-Jaden…is that a sarcophagus?"

"Sure looks like it," he said, crouching low in order to step inside.

Sy was pulled along with him reluctantly and Jaden shone the torch light over the tomb. It was a cement tomb—that was for certain and there appeared to be nothing around the tomb. Glancing around nervously at what he could see, Sy blinked when he noticed it was a very plain room.

"That's strange," he murmured softly.

"What is?" Jaden asked, tilting his head curiously to the side as he locked eyes.

"Well…in my class, from what I do remember, most times when pharaohs were buried it was always in a fancy pyramid and their tombs were sealed beneath it. Not to mention they always were buried with valuables, such as golden statues or jewelry. And also, their sarcophaguses were always painted with their faces, but I can't remember why. This tomb is blank and there's nothing in here."

"Maybe it was robbed," Jaden suggested. "Didn't back in the days there used to be tomb robbers?"

"Well yeah…I think. But…," Syrus said, gazing down at the tomb with furrowed eyebrows. "If he was a pharaoh then how come his tomb is sealed like that?"

Moving the torch down a bit, Jaden saw what Sy was referring to. The whole tomb had been pinned together by long sharp pieces of metal pounded down into it. It was obvious the metal pieces were used to keep the tomb shut.

"Maybe they did that so the tomb robbers couldn't get into the tomb. That could mean that there are valuables still inside," Jaden pointed out, as excitement lit up his face. "Could you imagine the surprise on the principal's face if we showed him some treasure?"

Sy gazed at him with a shocked expression. "Jaden, what are you saying! We can't open the tomb! It…It's against Egyptian law!"

"Good thing we're not Egyptians then," Jaden joked, smiling widely.

Glaring at him with an exasperated look, Sy shook his head. "Even if you were to try and open it, it's sealed shut!"

"I know, but there may be something at the school that can help us get those metal things out. And if Chumley were to come with us I bet he could help lift the top of the tomb off; he's strong enough."

"Jaden you can't be serious!" Sy scolded loudly, pulling away from him and giving him a look of apprehension. "Do you know how much trouble we could be in?"

"When aren't we in trouble?" Jaden laughed softly. "Besides, I'm too curious to just let this go. We'll have to come back again once we get help for the students. And we'll keep the passage a secret so the teachers don't know. Then at night we could sneak in here with Chumley and open it! Wouldn't that be awesome!"

"Yeah, until it triggers something awful like a trap that buries us in sand!" Sy shouted furiously. "It's too dangerous!"

"Aw, come on. It can't be any worse than facing those Shadow Riders," Jaden pleaded, giving him a small smile.

"_You_ fought the Shadow Riders, not me, J! I'm not…," he suddenly broke off. "I'm not brave enough," he said quietly, looking away.

Jaden's facial expression turned more serious as his eyes dimmed. "Sy, you are brave, you just don't know it," he said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Remember when you couldn't really swim but when you thought I was in danger you jumped in anyway? Anyone who couldn't swim or who was scared of water wouldn't have done that, but you cared enough about me that your fear of the water vanished. That _was_ bravery even if you didn't think it was."

His nose stung and he knew he looked like he was going to cry, but instead he just sniffled and turned back to him. "But that's so small compared to facing the shadow realm and saving the world."

"Even if you couldn't save the world, which you never know, you would at least try your best if you had to. You're stronger than you think, Sy, you just don't have enough confidence," Jaden insisted, giving him a soft smile. "Look, I'll help you learn to get more confidence if you help me with this. I promise you if there's any sign of real danger we'll leave, alright?"

Sy was silent for a few seconds, turning it over in his mind. Finally, he decided that he was a bit curious himself and if Jaden and Chumley were going to be there with him then he could do it. Nodding, Jaden grinned and enveloped him in a quick hug.

"Great! Now let's find a way out of this place!"

Allowing his self to be pulled out the room quickly, they raced together back into the room. They went through the tunnel Jaden had come in from and followed it back to the last room they had been in together. Searching around for any more hidden passages, Jaden decided to go back to the other room before it. The two of them split up, walking around the still unconscious bodies as they tried to find a hidden doorway or some way to get out. Sy bit back his panic of being trapped in there and looked hard even in the smallest of places. His eyes locked onto something familiar: another niche was apparent in the wall, high above him. Although it appeared just like an old crack because the walls were ancient, Sy didn't want to overlook it.

"Hey, J, I might have found something but I need you to lift me up."

Glancing over his shoulder, Jaden then jogged over to him and bent down so he could put his legs over his shoulders. Sy realized that Jaden wasn't tall enough.

"J, I can't reach…," he said.

"Stand on my shoulders then," Jaden said, grunting as he felt Sy shift.

Very carefully, Sy held his hand on the wall for balance even as Jaden helped to steady his legs. Making sure to be cautious so he wouldn't fall and break a bone, Sy placed his feet very slowly on his boyfriend's shoulders, keeping his left hand on the wall for support. It definitely brought him much closer to the niche, but he still couldn't quite reach. He pushed himself a bit higher by standing on his tip-toes, still managing to balance on Jaden's shoulders. It was difficult, but he stretched his left arm up and just barely slid his finger inside of it.

"Do you…feel anything?" Jaden asked, trying his best not to shake while Sy was balancing on him.

"No…nothing really, but I can't seem to get my finger all the way in," he said while he made a noise in the back of this throat trying to get his finger in. It was still a little out of reach and if he could just be lifted up a tiny bit farther…

His legs were suddenly grabbed and Jaden shakily began raising him up. Very unsteadily, Sy glanced down and began to follow his lead and placed his foot on the palm of Jaden's hand.

"Are you sure you'll be able to hold me up?" Sy asked warily.

"Just…hurry," Jaden grunted again as Sy stepped on his other hand and was lifted higher.

His finger was able to squeeze all the way inside and Sy's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as his finger felt something very unusual inside. His finger caught on a smooth surface and he pressed the small object or whatever it was.

"I got something!" he exclaimed.

Just as the words spilled out of his mouth the wall he was leaning against began to jerk. Sy was thrown off balance and screamed as he fell backward. He landed backward on top of a body and heard Jaden grunt from pain beneath him. Apparently, Jaden had thrown himself in the place where he would've landed right on the stone floor. The two of them hurried to their feet and watched as the wall moved revealing a passageway.

"I'll check it out Sy. Stay here and make sure it doesn't close; warn me if it does."

Nervously, he nodded and watched his boyfriend disappear inside the tunnel. His heart was pounding and he was sure that if even a tiny bit of air ghosted over him he would have a heart attack. Loud footsteps echoed from inside the tunnel and Sy thought for sure something bad had happened, but Jaden appeared with a huge smile across his face.

"Sy, it's a way out! It leads to the other side of the hot springs! So look, do you think you could stay here with them a little longer while I run and get help? I have longer legs than you do," he said softly, staring at him intently.

"Sure, J," Sy said, trying his best to put on a brave face.

"I'll hurry back!" Jaden exclaimed, rushing back through the tunnel.

Syrus stared around the room not liking the fact that the flames on the torches were low. He supposed he could find the lighter Jaden had used, but there was a chance he wouldn't be able to reach them because he was shorter. Taking a calming breath, Sy gazed over at the unconscious students wondering what happened to them to put them out for days. Then he remembered curiosity was dangerous, especially around that place. Ever since he had arrived at Duel Academy weirder things than he ever imagined had occurred. Perhaps he had been destined to go there and meet Jaden and also mend the bond between him and Zane.

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure it was some sort of sign of fate or something. His mom hadn't suggested going to the same school as Zane. Although she hadn't voiced it, she had probably been thinking he wasn't a good enough duelist for the academy. It was true…at first anyway. He was improving now, but at the same time he felt like he was still behind everyone else, or most everyone else.

A subtle noise made his head jerk in the direction of the last room they had been in, which was the tunnel that led toward the sarcophagus. He suddenly had an image in his mind of a mummy rising out of it. Shivering he forced himself to sit down by the entrance where Jaden had run through.

"You have to be brave, Sy, you _have_ to be," he whispered aloud.

Another noise caused him to look up with wide eyes. It sounded like pieces of gravel or stone hitting the floor, which was very plausible since the whole underground area was very old. Small pieces were probably falling off somewhere, he hoped. A part of him wondered what his brother was doing; probably studying like always so he could pass his exams. If Zane passed the exams for seniors going on during the week that the rest of the students had off then he wouldn't have to worry about any more written exams and just concentrate on winning duels the last day of school. If he remembered correctly, in order to graduate Zane would have to defeat three high-ranking duelists. There was no doubt in his mind that his brother could do it.

He scooted backward so that he would be able to lean against the wall and right when he did he heard something scrape against the floor. His breath stopped short until he realized the sound had come from him. Glancing in his right hand he saw that he had a coin—the one he found in the niche. Even in the dim light, he could tell it was covered in some grime. It probably wasn't worth very much, if anything although he couldn't make out any details since the light was so dim and because the grime on the coin had rusted over it. For a second, he thought it had glistened but he figured it was just the light of the torch reflecting off of it. A yawn escaped his mouth and Sy tiredly closed his eyes, hoping that Jaden would hurry up…

His shoulders were suddenly being shaken and Sy blinked blearily to see familiar brown eyes staring down at him. Rubbing at his eyes, Sy blinked a couple times and realized Jaden was hovering over him with an amused smile.

"Hey Sy, you fell asleep there. I didn't take _that_ long, did I?" he grinned happily.

"I…fell asleep?" he whispered aloud, inclining his head when he heard sounds.

It was then he realized they weren't alone. Several teachers including the principal had been reached and had come down to help the missing students. Dr. Crowler was one of them, to Syrus' surprise and he watched with interest as the students were being helped out. One of them had woken up but was very weak and the others were carried out.

"Here," Jaden said gently, handing him a jacket to cover himself.

Sy noticed Jaden had on a jacket too.

"Our clothes were found by a student and were brought to the principal. He was on his way to the hot springs when I bumped into him," Jaden explained while helping him to his feet.

"Oh," Sy responded softly while pulling the jacket fully around his body. "Are we in trouble?"

Jaden shrugged in response, giving him a small smile and Sy just sighed irritably. As the students were helped by other teachers, Dr. Crowler caught sight of them and stomped over to them, obviously trying to appear intimidating (though he looked rather ridiculous in his light purple bath robe).

"You both deliberately didn't do as I said! I told you to remain there and you didn't! Therefore you will be punished!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger.

Syrus glanced at Jaden with worry and sighed heavily. Dr. Crowler opened his mouth to announce their punishment when the principal suddenly approached them, smiling.

"Dr. Crowler, that won't be necessary. I know these two boys didn't stay in detention, but at least they found the missing students and now the reputation of Duel Academy is saved. I think perhaps we can afford to look away from any further punishment," he nodded smiling toward him.

Dr. Crowler gapped in shock, but reluctantly nodded as he walked away. Wheeling back around to glare at them, he pointed a finger once again.

"You may have gotten lucky this time, but be warned! I will be watching you with extra caution and if I see _anything_ out of the ordinary you can be sure I will give you extra homework along with detention!"

With that, he marched away with his nose in the air and Sy managed to let out a relieved sigh. "That was close," he grumbled.

"Sure was," Jaden gave him a goofy smile while swinging an arm around him as they followed the others out.

By the time they got back to the dorms it was already almost eleven o'clock at night and Sy was feeling rather exhausted. He figured it was because of the near-drowning and the scary underground structure that caused his adrenaline to continuously run wild. Chumley was sound asleep so the two of them dressed quietly into their pajamas. As Jaden slipped into bed, Sy hesitated at the ladder leading up to his bed in the top bunk. Jaden was pulling the covers over himself when he noticed Sy still standing there.

"What's up Sy? Did that sarcophagus scare you too much?" he cocked his head curiously. "Because…I mean, if you're scared you can always sleep with me."

Whatever Sy was about to say was washed away from his mind after Jaden's last comment. He could feel the heat spreading through his entire face at the thought of sharing such a small bed.

"Uh Sy?" Jaden blinked.

Fiddling with his fingers apprehensively, Sy gazed at him shyly. "Are we…going to tell Chumley about us?"

"Sure, why not? He's our friend," Jaden shrugged casually. "Not to mention we wouldn't want to give him a heart attack if he catches us kissing."

The blush on his cheeks intensified and he tried to hide it. "You're right," Sy said, glancing down momentarily. "If you don't mind, I'd like to tell Zane myself."

Jaden gave him a warm smile. "I understand, don't worry. I figured you would."

With a grateful smile in response, Sy then began ascending the ladder up to his bed as Jaden lay down.

"Night Sy," he heard Jaden yawn.

"Goodnight, J."

Sy smiled softly to himself in the dark and closed his eyes, falling almost immediately asleep.

**XXXXX**

The news of the missing students having been found traveled throughout the school by lunch the next day. No body really knew the whole story, only that Sy and Jaden had stumbled upon them. With that information, Sy and Jaden were bombarded with questions by many students during the day. They never really had any alone time together and Sy didn't get a free moment to find Zane and break the news to him. Chumley had found out early in the morning and had been too tired to really process anything until after he had eaten a large helping of breakfast. Afterward, he sort of blinked several times before shrugging and saying "Licious." Thankfully he didn't seem affected by it at all however Zane would be a different story. Sy wasn't looking forward to it; in fact he was feeling very anxious about telling him but he knew that he didn't want his brother to find out through someone else. Since spring break had ended the week before, most students decided to stay there for the week off school instead of going back home.

Lunch finally came and Sy, Jaden and Chumley grabbed their meals and raced off somewhere outside on the grounds so they wouldn't be annoyed by other students. They went to their secret place overlooking the water on a steep, grassy cliff. There were plenty of trees and bushes behind them to hide them from any passing students. The sun was shining brilliantly and Sy had gotten the idea of turning their lunch into a picnic. He had dragged a sheet outside with them and placed it on the grass for them to sit while the three of them spread their lunches across it. Chumley brought extra food having heard it was a picnic, just in case they wanted more helpings.

"Anyway, Chum," Jaden continued, taking another bite of his sandwich, "that's what really happened. We just didn't tell the teachers about the hidden tunnel because we were afraid they'd go in there and take the tomb out. I figure since it's been hidden this long that it wouldn't hurt to keep it a secret a bit longer and check it out for ourselves first."

Chumley nodded while he chewed and finally swallowed. He added more of his dad's famous hot-sauce to his sandwich before speaking: "Well, that definitely sounds licious. I mean an ancient tomb in a hidden underground area; sounds like you guys discovered a secret pharaoh's hide away or something."

"Sort of…," Sy said, shrugging. "There's no telling if the picture on the wall was really a pharaoh or even if the tomb has anything in it. The chances of an Egyptian pharaoh being buried all the way in an island off the coast of Japan is unlikely; really, _really_ unlikely. Most were buried in places all around Africa, especially Egypt. I don't know of any pharaohs that they found outside of Africa, but then again I only got a C in Western Civ. class."

"That's not bad," Jaden said, grinning. "I didn't even take that class so I know nothing about ancient pharaohs or Egypt or anything. I remember that year I took a math class and somehow they transferred me into the junior class when I was only a sophomore so I did pretty badly in it."

"Couldn't you get out of it?" Sy asked.

"I tried, but it was too late to take me out since all the other classes were full," he sighed heavily. "But that doesn't matter anymore. Dueling is my life now."

"And yet you still get bad grades," Sy pointed out, dodging a piece of bread that was thrown at him.

"I remember my old school too," Chum said, glancing out into the clear-blue sky. "I remember they had worse food than they do here."

Sy and Jaden both chuckled, knowing too well just how their friend was about food.

"So anyway, what do you say tonight the three of us go back down there and try to open the sarcophagus?" Jaden asked, glancing at the both of them.

Swallowing thickly, Sy glanced nervously at Chumley who remained passive. "I guess…as long as we make sure we have a really big dinner before we go, just in case we get stuck down there," Chum said.

Sy gapped at him and Jaden grinned, nodding in agreement. "You got it, Chum! Sy?"

As Jaden's eyes came upon him, Sy felt his throat constrict. He didn't want to disappoint him by chickening out. And they had been down there before so they had a way out now.

"Well…alright. But I don't want to have to get in by almost drowning again," he stated, while trying not to remember how Jaden saved him.

"We won't have to," Jaden winked. "We were the last ones out and the principal told me to seal it up but I left a stick in the doorway so it's open a crack. We can get in through the tunnel we came out of."

Sighing heavily, Sy nodded his consent. "Alright, J, but remember your promise. If something comes out of that tomb or the whole place starts caving in, we run for our lives."

Laughing brightly, Jaden grinned. "Don't worry I didn't forget."

The three of them continued eating and enjoying the limited company. Switching subjects, Jaden began talking about dueling and some new cards he was adding to his deck. After an hour they picked up their things and decided to go to the dueling arena to watch students duel. Throughout the day, Sy worried about being able to get Zane alone and finding the words to say. He didn't get his chance that day as it soon became dinner time. Just as Chumley suggested, they ate a rather large meal and waited until it was about ten o'clock before they left the dorm room and headed toward the creepy underground passageway.

This time they brought flashlights so they wouldn't have to rely on the dim light of the torches (not that any of them had matches anyway). Also they had a large hammer and a crowbar (which Jaden said had been in the supply closet by Dr. Crowler's room). As they came in through the tunnel into the room where the students had been, Sy felt a shiver run up his spine. Holding his flashlight tightly, he stuck close behind Jaden. Chumley didn't seem too afraid; Sy wasn't sure if that was because of how much he ate or if perhaps he just wasn't as sensitive as he was. Jaden remembered exactly where the hidden passage was so they followed him until they got to the room with the hieroglyphic.

"Totally licious!" Chumley exclaimed, glancing up at the picture.

The compartment was still opened just the way they had left it. Uneasily, Sy peered in after them, shining his own flashlight onto the sarcophagus and wishing that they hadn't found it. Chumley leaned forward, blinking in interest as he stared at it.

"You think anything's in there?"

"Don't know, that's what we're going to find out," Jaden said, handing the crowbar to Chumley.

The two of them stepped forward into the room while Sy remained in the doorway, keeping his light on the tomb. He watched as Jaden tried to loosen the metal pieces jammed into it with the back of the hammer head. Unfortunately, it was much more difficult to try and pull out than nails. Chumley then tried to the crowbar, which to their surprise began to work. Much time had passed since the sarcophagus was placed there so the metal had rusted making it easier for the crowbar to slip in and apply just enough force to bend it. Chumley, being the largest of the three, used his strength and leaned on the other end of the crowbar creating a lever, which then allowed the other end of the crowbar to yank the metal pieces out of their hold. Then Jaden was able to pound them out with the hammer and the rusted pieces dropped noisily to the floor. Sy watched with shaking hands as the two of them worked for a solid fifteen minutes, trying to loosen up all the metal chunks and finally the last one fell to the floor.

"Ready Chum?" Jaden asked, his eyes alight with wonder.

"Yep," he answered, heaving as he pushed with all his might on the top piece of the sarcophagus.

He and Jaden worked together and it just barely budged, but even their strength combined didn't work. Sy knew even before Jaden looked at him that somehow he would have to help. Approaching it tentatively, Sy put down his flashlight and helped them push. The top suddenly began to move very slowly and they all heaved and grunted until it was a quarter of the way off. They took a short breather then continued moving the very heavy stone until most of it was uncovered. A second later, Jaden picked up his flashlight and shone it inside. Sy squeaked as the light revealed rotted bones that hardly even resembled a body anymore.

"Ewww!" Sy exclaimed, holding his noise. "Is this what you wanted to see Jaden?"

"Well it's definitely a dead guy. Wonder who he was?" Jaden asked aloud, examining the inside.

It was obvious that some of his bone had turned to ash, but otherwise there didn't seem to be anything inside. There were no jewels or valuables or even anything indicating who the body belonged to.

"You know, maybe this guy isn't even Egyptian," Sy said, wrinkling his nose as he pulled his hand away. "He definitely wasn't buried like a pharaoh."

"No joke," Chumley nodded.

Jaden sighed heavily and picked up the hammer. "It wasn't as exciting as I hoped."

"What were you expecting!" Sy gestured with his hands. "I mean it is a tomb, Jaden."

"You're right, Sy."

"You never know," Chumley said, staring down at the disfigured skull. "Sometimes in ancient cultures there were curses for disturbing the peace of the dead."

"That's…really nice, Chum, thanks," Sy said sarcastically. "Alright, can we go now?"

"Hold on, let me just check around this other room once more," Jaden said as he left the compartment and went into the other room.

Sy opened his mouth just as Chumley followed him out. "Wait, guys! Don't leave me in here with the corpse!" he exclaimed.

He rushed forward and accidentally tripped on one of the metal pieces that had been taken out. His flashlight flew out of his hand and, to Sy's horror, right into the sarcophagus. Gulping, Sy carefully picked himself up and stared at it for several long seconds. His eyes glanced at the doorway where he desperately wanted to run out, but it wasn't his flashlight it was the school's. And if he lost it he'd have to explain; if the principal found out they had been down there again without permission they'd be in big trouble. Taking in a shaky breath, Sy stepped forward even as his legs trembled beneath him. He made out the outline of the flashlight and yanked his hand in and grabbed it. Pulling it up shakily, he shined the light on the face of the dead body, taking several calming breaths. He stepped backward and his flashlight moved. Something glistened out of the corner of his eye and he blinked, jerking his head back toward the sarcophagus.

The sound of Jaden and Chumley talking as they examined the room reached his ears and he desperately wanted to go out to them, but he could've sworn he saw something. Stepping forward very cautiously, Sy shined the light back inside the sarcophagus and moved it around. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared. His hand suddenly stopped moving as something shimmered again. Directing the flashlight back at that angle, he noticed something reflecting the light. Sy swallowed dryly and reached a trembling hand inside. His fingers touched the cold ashy remains and he shivered. His fingers trailed through it and something cold and smooth made him stop. He grasped the object and pulled. Letting out a shriek, Sy dropped the hand of the sarcophagus and something small fell from it and landed with a clang on the floor. Shining his flashlight down, he searched around until he saw something in the corner of the doorway.

"Sy, where'd you go!" Jaden called out.

Jumping slightly, Sy tried to calm his racing heart beat. "One minute!" he called back.

As he kneeled down he reached out and picked up the object, noticing it was a ring. It was covered in too much grime just like the coin had been, but he was definitely sure it was a ring. A cold rush came over him and Sy jumped, flickering the flashlight back on the sarcophagus. Unsteadily, he stumbled backward and out of the doorway, rushing to get out of that room.

"There you are, Sy," Jaden said, spotting him from the other end. "Come on, Chum and I didn't find anything else."

"Jaden, I—"

Just then the walls of the entire underground area began to tremble. Sy nearly lost balance and let out a sound of surprise. Both Jaden and Chumley looked just as surprised as he. The ground beneath their feet was trembling as well and Sy was certain that wasn't a good sign.

"Hurry! Let's get out of here!" Jaden exclaimed, running toward the tunnel.

Sy wasted no time in following them, running as fast as he could behind them. The three of them raced through the tunnel, hearing pieces of stone collapse behind them. A big piece of stone suddenly fell and blocked the entrance into the structure, but thankfully the tunnel they were in didn't feel like it would give. They made it out into the open air and Sy breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Jaden…we are _never_ doing that again," he said breathlessly.

"Okay, fine with me," he responded while seemingly just out of breath.

"I'm hungry again," Chumley said. "Let's go back to the room now. I think that's about all the excitement I can handle for one day."

Laughing, Jaden nodded and the three of them quickly headed back to their dorm thankful that they hadn't been caught in the process. In all the excitement (and fear), Sy completely forgot about the ring on his finger even as he slipped into bed a little while later. Unnoticed by him or anyone else in their room, while they were sleeping the ring on Sy's finger began to let off a soft, eerie glow.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

To Reviewers: 

**PowHammer**: Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! Hopefully I can consistently update. :-)

**Vulpix1000: **:-) Thanks again. I'm so glad to hear you like this story. I will update this asap!

**KagomeGirl21: **I know, aren't they? It's so cute! I'll try not to make it too sappy, lol!

**Lilicat93: **I know, don't worry I completely understand. In fact, poor Syrus was feeling just a little embarrassed as well for being so underdressed. :-)

**Just someone: **I'm so glad you're liking this! And I'm glad you're thinking about what might happen next. :-) Yeah, Jaden and Sy are so cute together. Really? There are some missing words? Darn! I normally read over the chapter before I post it. I'll have to keep an eye out for that, but if you find any mistakes again let me know which parts, k? Thanks!

**DarkElixier66: **Aww, thanks! I'm so glad you like it so far! I'll update asap!

**Ronin** **32: **Hey again! I'm glad you're still liking this. :-) I can't wait for yet another update from you, so keep up the good work!

**Coco** **Noodle Niccals: **Lol! Yeah, I know, my chapters tend to be really long. Well I'm glad you're starting to like this. Hopefully I can keep you interested. :-)

**Senachan141: **Aww, thank you! That's so sweet! Yeah, I noticed that they're pretty close in the series, but of course they never show much intimacy in kid/teen shows. Ah well. I guess that's what fanfiction is for. Anywhoo, yes they are perfect for each other and their romance will develop even more. I will update this asap!

**Oroko: **I know, they are such a cute pairing! I'm glad you think the romance between them is believable. That's a relief! Yeah, I've read some PWP; it's very amusing how they're like "hi" one minute then making out the next. Anywhoo, I will update asap!

**Ac-the-brain-supreme: **I know, poor Sy. I think I enjoy torturing him too much…lol!


	4. A Terrifying Encounter

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 3: A Terrifying Encounter**

_The hallways loomed in front of him seemingly longer than usual. He couldn't remember where he was going or if he even had a destination. There was a feeling inside of him that told him he was searching for something, but since he wasn't sure he continued walking. A part of him was nervous because there wasn't much light, but it was his school so what was he afraid of? Footsteps echoed nearby and Sy froze, unable to open his mouth for he was rigid with fear. He squinted while peering down the darkened hallway and a figure emerged out of the shadows. Smiling with relief, Sy jogged toward Jaden, who was waving at him energetically. _

"_Hey Sy, guess what?" he chirped. _

"_Uh…what, J?" Sy cocked his head to the left. _

"_I just told the entire school about us! Even Zane knows now!" Jaden grinned widely. _

_Sy's eyes bugged out considerably. "W-what! Why did you do that Jaden? You know that I wanted to tell him!"_

"_I know, but it has been weeks and you haven't told him so I thought it would be alright."_

_His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest and he tried not to panic. He didn't even realize that he didn't have much control over anything around him. Jaden suddenly grabbed his arm roughly and began tugging. _

"_Come on, Zane wants to see you."_

"_W-wait, J! I can't!" Sy protested, unable to move away. Somehow Jaden was pulling him down the darkened hallway and his body just complied against his will. _

_Strangely enough, at the end of the hallway there was a door and through the door led straight to the Obelisk blue dorms. Syrus was sure that door hadn't been there before, but his mind was all boggled and confused and his heart was racing. As Jaden happily dragged him toward his doom, Syrus was certain that the door behind them vanished although he was too immersed in his fear of Zane's reaction to realize everything around him was hazy. _

_They reached the Obelisk blue dorms and Sy was suddenly pushed up toward his brother's room. He gulped as Jaden brought him up to the room door and knocked on it. Syrus was trembling in his place and he shut his eyes for a second. A small creak caused his heart to jump and his eyes snapped open, watching as the door slowly opened. _

"_Jaden, I don't…," he trailed off as he glanced to his side and saw that his friend was no longer there. _

_His head jerked forward once again and his face paled realizing that no one was standing at the door; it had somehow opened by itself. Inhaling deeply, Sy cautiously stepped forward chanting in his mind that it was his brother and the worst that could happen would be that he wouldn't approve. Just as he stepped inside past the entrance the door shut, which caused him to let out a scream and stumble backward. _

"_Syrus…," an icy voice whispered. _

_To his horror, he felt a cold wind sweep over him and he wheeled around, barely able to keep his legs steady. There at the patio doors with his back turned stood his brother. He was sure it was Zane because of the dark blue hair and the Obelisk blue uniform. His throat suddenly felt dry and swallowing did no good. Hesitantly, he took another step closer and stopped. _

"_Zane…uh, you w-wanted to see me?" he stammered. _

_A hand slowly raised and he watched entranced as his brother's fingers touched the glass of the patio, but he didn't say anything or even turn around. It was making him very anxious to see Zane acting so strangely. Perhaps the news had shocked him into a trance. _

"_I'm very disappointed in you," the cold, familiar voice spoke. _

_Syrus' eyes widened in shock, holding a saddened gaze in their depths. "But…Zane, please."_

"_It's never going to work. Jaden will always be above you, you know this. He'll move on to greater things and you'll be left behind," Zane's voice suddenly deepened. _

"_Stop it! That's not true!" Syrus exclaimed while on the verge of crying. _

"_I have no choice but to disown you as my brother and pretend that you never existed."_

"_Zane…please don't…," Sy whispered, terrified as tears dripped from the corner of his eyes. "Please don't hate me."_

"_How dare you…," Zane hissed, his voice becoming deeper and holding an emotion he couldn't quite place. _

_Sy made a move to step backward, frightened by his brother's drastic change in tone. "Z-Zane?"_

"_Înķ…," Zane suddenly hissed in a foreign tongue. Very slowly he turned around and faced him. "Amun-Ra nŤr âA." _

_A loud scream escaped his lips as he saw the face before him was not his brother's. The skin was peeling away and the eyes were illuminating a deep crimson color. Pieces of bone and old muscle were gleaming in the moonlight displayed in the room from outside the patio doors. And the dark blue hair fell away as a rotting, familiar corpse stepped forward. It resembled the old, decaying corpse in the sarcophagus. And Syrus ran for his life toward the door only to find it had vanished and there standing before him was the familiar wall of the chamber where the sarcophagus had been placed. Trembling with fear, Syrus backed into the wall and turned around, trying to move farther away from the _thing _walking toward him. The corpse stretched out bony, decaying fingers toward him as if wanting to strangle him. _

"_Ânkh ĥëh…," the raspy voice hissed, reaching out to touch him. _

"_NOOOO!" Sy let out a desperate cry as he shut his eyes and pulled his hands over his face. _

"_Sy…"_

_He let out another hiccupped sob and the voice became louder in his mind. It sounded…familiar and not at all like the voice coming from the corpse. _

"_SY!"_

His body jolted up out of the bed causing the person hovering above him to jump from being startled.

"Gee, I thought you'd never wake up," Chumley commented, glancing down at him.

Syrus was breathing heavily and his body was covered in perspiration. He wiped his forehead and glanced around seeing that Chumley was standing on his ladder looking at him.

"Sorry, Chum I just had a nightmare," Syrus sighed with relief, thankful that it had only been a terrible dream. "I didn't wake Jaden, did I?"

"I'm not sure; he was gone when I woke up," Chumley said, climbing down from the ladder.

Blinking in surprise, Syrus climbed down the ladder as well and took a look into the bunk below. Sure enough, it was empty.

"Where could he have—"

The door suddenly opened and Sy let out a scream, clinging tightly onto Chumley as the vision of the corpse settled back into his mind. Jaden entered, blinking with wide eyes at the sudden exclamation.

"Uh…hi to you too," he joked.

Sy sighed again and slumped down onto Jaden's bed. "I'm sorry, I'm a little jumpy, J. Where were you?"

"I just went the bathroom, that's all. Why are you jumpy?" he asked, approaching them.

Chumley yawned and sat down at the desk chair to listen.

"I…had a nightmare," Sy admitted sheepishly, blushing slightly.

Jaden gave him an encouraging smile and sat down next to him on the bed. "It's alright, Sy, everyone has nightmares. What was it about?"

"It was about…," he gulped. "It was about Zane at first and he found out about us…," he trailed off.

"Really? What'd he do, turn into a monster and promise to kill me?" Jaden grinned widely while laughing in a joking manner.

Sy glanced up at him with a nervous expression and Jaden blinked down at him, surprised. "He…did?"

"Basically…he told me how disappointed he was in me then it was like he was speaking another language!" Sy exclaimed as he scooted closer to Jaden feeling chills run up his spine. "And then all of a sudden h-he turned around and he was that corpse from the sarcophagus!"

"Oh, I see," Jaden smiled while putting an arm around him. "I guess it did scare you pretty bad, huh?"

At Sy's nod Jaden began rubbing his back in an apologetic manner. "Well, the good news is that we won't be able to get back in."

"But what about the current in the hot springs?" Sy asked nervously.

Jaden shook his head with a small smile. "I already told the principal that's how the missing students got sucked into it. He told me he's going to call in for some experts to seal the hole tomorrow. Until then no one's allowed to go in them so don't worry."

"Technically it's today since it's two in the morning," Chumley corrected.

"Right, that too," Jaden smirked jokingly. "Anyway, I suppose it's a good thing we can sleep in tomorrow."

Sy nodded then suddenly he straightened up as he remembered something. "You guys, I almost forgot! I found a couple things in that place!"

"Really?" Jaden's eyes lit up in excitement. "Let's see!"

Walking toward the desk, he took out the rusted coin and brought it over to them, along with showing them the ring. Jaden took the coin in his hands then unexpectedly bit a small piece of it.

"Jaden! It's been down there for so long and it probably has lots of germs!" Sy scolded him.

"I was just testing to see if it's gold," he said.

"Is it?" Chumley asked sounding intrigued.

"Er…I'm not sure," Jaden laughed as Sy's expression changed into an annoyed one. "But I'm sure if we get it cleaned up we'll know for sure."

"Yeah and the ring too!" Sy exclaimed, smiling. "It's going to be my good luck charm since we survived that place!"

"Really? Then, uh…could I wear it for that test next week?" Jaden grinned, blinking down at it.

Sy held his hand close to his chest and gave him a small glare. "No. And anyway you're going to need more than luck for that test."

"Don't remind me," Jaden groaned, slumping back on his bed.

"Come on, let's try and get some sleep," Sy said, hoping his new good luck charm would keep the bad dream away if he wished hard enough.

Jaden yawned and nodded, just barely kicking off his shoes as he slipped into bed. Chumley too got up and slipped into his own bed, but Syrus remained seated on the edge of his friend's bed, twirling the ring around his finger.

"Sy?" Jaden asked, glancing at him. "Are you going to go to bed?"

"Yeah…," he trailed off softly.

Jaden stared at him for a second before smiling knowingly. "Would you like to sleep with me?"

Soft, grey eyes gazed into his sheepishly and slowly he nodded. Scooting over to allow the smaller boy some room, Jaden watched as Syrus slipped under the covers next to him. Sy was inwardly thankful that they were pressed side-by-side so that he would feel safe. Smiling subtly, he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Jaden's soft breathing beside him.

When he opened his eyes hours later, the sun was just barely peeking into the room. It took him a few minutes to realize someone was nestled up very close to his body and had his legs wrapped around him. Turning his neck to look, Syrus blushed as he saw Jaden was pressed up against him (and snoring softly). Their lips were inches apart and Sy knew if he just leaned down a little closer…

Suddenly Jaden made a sound in the back of his throat and rolled over, stretching his arms over his head. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he finally opened them and sat up, yawning.

"I'm hungry," he said.

Sy ignored the fact that he had been blushing seconds before and sat up, laughing in amusement. Jaden turned, looking surprised for a second before smiling. The two of them had been so comfortable with one another they had forgotten momentarily that they had been in the same bed.

"Where's Chumley?" Syrus asked confused.

"Probably getting breakfast as we speak, come on!" Jaden bounded up, racing for the door.

"Uh…J," Sy said, fighting down a blush. "You're still in your underwear."

Jaden wheeled around and blinked while staring down at his boxers. Laughing at his own mistake, Jaden quickly slipped on some clothes and waited for Sy to do the same before the two of them headed to the breakfast hall. As they entered, they spotted Chumley and rushed over to him. Although he was eating he had a nervous expression on his face.

"Hey Chum!" Jaden grinned. "I'm starving! What's for breakfast?"

Chumley blinked then shrugged. "It's a buffet. You can go pick out anything you want."

Jaden's smile faded slightly. "What's the matter?"

"Yeah, you look kind of freaked out," Sy added.

"I guess so," Chumley sighed. "You guys were fast asleep together," he began as Sy blushed crimson, "but there was an explosion sometime near dawn, I think. That's what Dr. Crowler said anyway. He was the one who woke up because of it and went straight to Principal Shepphard's room."

"An explosion? From what?" Jaden asked curiously, his eyes widening with interest.

"They say it was from that place we went to, where the missing students were. Somehow it exploded and everything collapsed. They said we don't have to worry about the hot springs because the hole was sealed up. And the entrance nearby the hot springs in that tunnel was completely obliterated."

"Whoa…weird," Jaden said in awe. "What do they think happened?"

Chumley glanced around then leaned in closer to them. "Dr. Crowler thinks that it's your fault. He said when you went to go be a hero to save the missing students you probably triggered a defense mechanism that destroyed the entire place."

"And that's bad? That way the students won't have to worry!" Sy exclaimed, feeling angry that Dr. Crowler blamed Jaden for everything.

"Thanks Sy," Jaden grinned.

"Well, I guess not, but Dr. Crowler said it would've been better to have it there so that experts could go inside and see if there's any great archaeological find or something," Chumley said, shrugging again. "I think it's just an excuse."

"Me too, but I wonder how it exploded? I mean, you would think if we triggered something that it would've happened right away," Jaden stated in confusion. "Ah well…I'm too hungry to be able to think. I'm going to go grab something. You coming Sy?"

"Yeah," he said a bit worriedly as he followed behind him.

As expected, the students that were in line were talking about what they had heard about the explosion.

"Becky says it's probably some sort of ancient curse because that was a sacred place!" a Slifer boy exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I think it's probably just because it wasn't built very well," a Ra yellow student replied, staring at him in annoyance. "My dad's an engineer so I'm sure he would say there was too much tension in the structure with the hot spring on top of it. Plus, if even the slightest base was put even one degree off it would weaken the whole thing," he explained logically. "Girls believe too much in supernatural things."

Sy glanced at Jaden, who had been oblivious to the conversation since he was too busy piling food on his plate.

"…and this and ooo they haven't had these in a while…"

Sy shook his head and put some mac and cheese on his plate. What the two boys had said stuck in his mind. Chum had said he learned about ancient curses. In his Western Civ. class he remembered when King Tut's tomb had been found and several works died; some said it was King Tut's curse, but whether it had been a curse or not was never proven. Still, it made him wonder whether or not there had been a curse in the underground structure or even maybe with the sarcophagus. He shivered in thought, pushing that fear away as he and Jaden made their way back to the table. While they were eating, Jaden nudged him gently in the ribs.

"Hey, later tonight do you want to go back to the hot springs?" he asked, his brown eyes shining mischievously.

"Uh, okay," Sy retorted softly, blinking curiously.

"What about you Chumley?" Jaden turned to him.

"Licious," he answered, nodding.

Jaden grinned in response. "Alright!" he exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air before going back to shoving food in his mouth.

**XXXXXX**

_Later that night- 10:13 p.m._

"Why do we always have to go out past curfew?" Sy whined softly, as the three of them headed toward the springs in the dark.

"Because, Sy, no one comes out at this time," Jaden smiled. "We'll have it all to ourselves."

They reached the steaming waters, though this time they all brought swim suits. Jaden's suit was like regular shorts only it clung to his body and was dark blue with black stripes on the side. Sy was wearing a shorter one that fit him nicely and it was a silver color, almost matching his eyes. Chumley's swimsuit was in the style of long trunks that almost went to his knees and it was looser than both Sy's and Jaden's, though his had a picture of a koala on the front to the bottom left corner and was entirely black.

Grinning, Jaden tossed his towel onto the grass and jumped in, letting out a sigh of content. Syrus gently placed his towel on a rock (so no bugs would crawl on it, he hoped) and eased himself into the water. Chumley was already in as well and soon the three of them were leaning up against the bank while basking in the glow of the moonlight. Chumley had his eyes closed moments later and Jaden glanced at Sy who was gently moving his feet underwater. Wading over to him, Jaden brushed up against him and gave him a smile.

"Do you want to go for a little swim?" he asked softly.

Sy gazed at him curiously. "Uh…sure, why are you whispering?"

"Eh…," Jaden laughed nervously. "Actually, I was thinking we could…you know…go for a _swim_."

He cocked his head in confusion as Jaden repeated the same thing, then finally his eyes widened.

"You…Jaden…a-are you suggesting we…," Sy trailed off glancing at Chumley, "go make-out," he whispered almost inaudibly.

Laughing very softly while scratching his cheek nervously Jaden nodded. "Yeah, I mean…if we can't make-out then maybe we don't feel romantic about each other, right?" he asked quietly.

"Right…so, um…what about our first kiss?" Sy asked while blushing.

Jaden combed his fingers through his hair in thought.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad, right?"

"No, i-it wasn't, though…you kind of…," Sy trailed off unable to state he had stuck his tongue in his mouth.

Jaden blinked a few times before he figured out what he was referring to. "Heh, guess I got carried away. I won't do it again if you don't want me to."

Blushing brilliantly, Sy nodded. "So…if we kiss more often then we'll know if this is real and not a spur-of-the-moment attraction…right?"

"Exactly," Jaden smiled, nodding. "Let's just tell Chumley we're off to do laps. He hates exercise."

It was hard not to stutter by Sy managed to get out an "O-okay."

Seconds later, Jaden waded over to Chumley and poked his side. His small eyes opened in response and with a yawn he glanced over at Jaden who was grinning widely.

"Hey Chum. Sy and I were thinking of going off to do some laps and see how fast we can swim to the other side of the springs. Wanna join us?"

"Uh, you guys go on ahead. I'm going to stay here and relax," he said, closing his eyes once more.

"Alright, but don't fall asleep. We don't want you to drown," Jaden said, patting his large arm.

"I won't," Chumley agreed, giving him a half-smile before resting against the bank once more.

Jaden turned and waded toward Sy, giving him a silent thumbs-up. Together, they swam away from the area and Sy followed his friend, now boyfriend, farther away. It was near the center of the large springs that they finally took a break and rested against a large rock. Hesitantly, Sy moved closer to Jaden until they were pressed side-by-side. Jaden flung an arm around his shoulders and grinned. Glancing up at him nervously, Sy turned completely so they were facing one another. He felt Jaden's other hand come up underwater and wrap around him, resting on his lower back. It was awkward at first because neither made any further moves, but finally Jaden pulled Sy closer and their lips met. At first it was slow and not very passionate, but soon Sy's arms came up around the taller boy's neck and soon they were wading in water together with Jaden holding him afloat.

They broke apart for a second and Sy blushed, still able to feel the warmth that Jaden's lips left upon his. "Um, J…I still haven't told Zane about us."

Jaden blinked and tilted his head. "It's alright. You don't have to rush. I mean the only one who knows about us is Chumley and he's not going to tell anyone."

"But what if someone catches us kissing?" Sy blurted out desperately. "I don't want Zane to find out that way!"

Smiling softly, Jaden wound his arms around him and pressed their foreheads together. "How about tomorrow? It's still the weekend so it's not like Zane has classes, right? Just go up to his dorm and see him. The others there know you're his brother so they'll let you in."

"Yes, but…how will I explain it?" Sy bit his lip nervously, glancing downward.

"Just don't think too hard. I know it might be hard to tell him, but if you really want him to not find out any other way you'll just have to let it out. I'm sure Zane won't react too badly," he comforted him, touching his chin so Sy could look at him. "Or at least he won't turn into a corpse like in your dream."

"Jaden!" Sy exclaimed, punching his arm. "That's not funny."

"Ow…," he winced and then grinned playfully. "Look, don't worry about it right now, how about I distract you with another kiss?"

Blushing, Sy barely had time to blink before Jaden's lips descended upon his once again. As their lips roved over each other's, he felt Jaden's hand slide up his back and to his neck. Sy tilted his head and soon their kiss deepened. He felt Jaden's warm chest up against his and he sighed with contentment just as something tickled his legs. Breaking away from the kiss, Sy let out a small laugh. Jaden blinked curiously, giving him a look.

"My kiss wasn't that funny, was it?"

"No, it's not the kiss," Sy said, laughing. "There are bubbles beneath me and it's tickling me."

Jaden glanced down at the water, smiling. "Really? I don't feel anything."

"It's alright…never mind," Sy blushed. "J…if…if you want to, we can try to…French kiss again."

"Sounds fine with me," he grinned goofily.

Sy allowed his head to be brought up as Jaden guided him closer. He closed his eyes ready to let Jaden show him once again. The older boy pressed his lips down slowly, but deepened it as he began nudging Sy's lips apart. Understanding, Sy made it easier for him and parted his lips even as they were still kissing. Very soon he felt Jaden's tongue invade and it didn't feel strange in the least, not like the first time when it had been unexpected. Instead, Sy relaxed as the tongue carefully slid over his own though he didn't join in quite yet. The kiss was still languid but full of passion and finally Sy got up the nerve to move his tongue and it brushed up against Jaden's. It was a bit strange at first, but as Jaden very slowly began to caress his tongue Sy joined in and a slow rhythm began. He actually remembered to breathe through his nose even as Jaden's arms tightened around him. Their lips remained parted and heatedly attached together as both tongues caressed one another. Sy moved his head a bit, enjoying the intimacy when suddenly a hand brushed up against his thigh.

Eyes widening, he broke apart feeling Jaden's tongue leave. The other boy was breathing heavily and was slightly flushed. Blushing as something continued to brush up against his thigh, moving very slowly, he finally glanced up.

"J-Jaden…um, I like the kiss, but I think it's too much for you to be touching me like that."

With a confused expression, Jaden blinked. "Touching you like what? You mean with my arms around you or with my hands on your back?"

"No," Sy shook his head. "The hand on my…my thigh."

Jaden's eyebrows furrowed. "Sy, my hand isn't on your thigh. Both my hands are on your back, see?" he said, poking with two different hands against the middle of his back.

He felt the two different hands poke him and the feeling against his thigh was still there as well. Sy let out a squeak and latched onto Jaden, his eyes widening with fear.

"T-then what's on my thigh, J?"

"Here, let me see, it might just be a bug or something," he said, submerging under water.

As he ducked under, he noticed the bubbles Sy had been talking about. There were a lot of them, but not near the place where Jaden had been wading. Blinking through the water to get his eyes adjusted, he examined Sy's leg. Unfortunately, he couldn't see that well underwater since it was dark out, but he swam right under his legs, looking around. It was then around the back of him that he saw something on the back of his thigh, though he couldn't make it out. Jaden reached out to grab it, hoping that it wasn't one of the biting beetles he had heard about and his fingers latched onto it. It took him a few seconds to realize the shape of it felt familiar. It was when it moved between his own fingers that he realized it was attached to something. In fact, with the way that it was moving, it felt like he had grabbed onto a…a _finger_.

Before the thought of a prankster came to mind, the finger moved and suddenly Jaden's wrist was captured in a hand. A dark silhouette appeared nearby Sy's legs and very slowly it seemed to be coming closer. The grip on Jaden's wrist tightened and he struggled, needing to go up for air. Now that he thought about it, the hand felt incredibly rough and bony, like the skin had spent too much time in the sun. Jaden opened his mouth underwater as he was tugged downward very firmly. He lashed out with his feet, trying to get away from whoever was trying to drown him. A hoard of bubbles came flying at him and he realized a second later that the bubbles were coming from a mouth—an open mouth. As his wrist was turned painfully, Jaden caught of glimpse of something from the moonlight. The hand that had grabbed him _was_ bony—in fact, there was hardly any skin left on it!

He tried to scream underwater and get Sy's attention. The only thing he could do was kick and that's exactly what he did. His foot lashed out and kicked the bony hand on his wrist. To his disgust, the hand completely broke off the arm, which was too hard to make out in the dark and Jaden flailed underwater while shaking the disconnected hand off of him. He managed to force it off with his free hand and he swam to the surface as fast as possible.

Gasping for air, Jaden grabbed Sy's arm. "Jaden, are you alright? Did you almost dro—OW! Jaden!"

Jaden had suddenly pulled on his arm, trying to get him to swim as he took in deep breaths. "Swim, Sy! There's something underwater; it tried to drown me!"

"W-what! Jaden, stop, you're scaring me!" Sy exclaimed kicking his legs as Jaden kept a firm grip on him and was also kicking hard.

"Sy, I'm not joking! Just sw—"

The water suddenly burst up at them and Sy let out a scream, getting flung away from him.

"Jaden!"

"Over here, Sy," he called, grabbing his hand and pulling him close.

Sy wrapped his arms firmly around him, frightened by the way he was acting. "Jaden, what's going on?"

A sound caused them both to incline their heads to see a dark shape looming up out of the surface of the water. The moon, which had been mostly hiding behind the clouds, suddenly illuminated something that made Sy's whole body paralyzed. The dark, decaying skin…the empty sockets…it looked just like the corpse from inside the sarcophagus.

"J-Jaden…," Sy stammered, trembling uncontrollably.

"I see it, Sy," he said quietly, wading backward carefully with the smaller boy in his arms. "I think you were right about not opening that tomb."

"What do we do?" he barely choked out as the mouth of the corpse opened and its hollow eyes stared in their direction as if seeing them even in the dark, or maybe even hearing them wade through the water.

"Swim!" Jaden exclaimed, pushing him forward.

Sy didn't even need to think twice as he began swimming as fast as possible with Jaden right beside him. His heart was pounding furiously and he was so afraid that he didn't have time to realize a live corpse was really in the water, just like in horror movies. He was swimming so hard and fast, not caring as he swallowed some water that he didn't realize where he was going. He suddenly ran into something and scraped his arm. Gasping, he stopped seeing that he had run into a rock and wheeled around. Jaden was no where to be seen and neither was the corpse…unless it was swimming underwater right below him…

He launched himself forward, allowing tears of fear escape him as his adrenaline pumped. He swam and swam until he collided with something warm…like a body.

"AHHHH!" Sy screamed loudly punching the thing in front of him.

"Ow, you twerp!" a voice exclaimed angrily.

Breathing heavily, Sy glanced up surprised and still dazed from swimming so hard. There in front of him coated in the dim light from the moon was Chazz, giving him an irritated look.

"What's going on?" a feminine voice spoke up.

"Zane, your little twerp for a brother is going around hitting people!" he spat, sending Sy another glare.

"Z-Zane!" Sy exclaimed suddenly, pushing Chazz out of the way as he swam into a small area where he saw Alexis, Atticus, Bastion and Zane relaxing.

"Sy?" Zane asked, blinking slowly. "What are you doing out here so late? Let me guess, it was Jaden's idea."

"Zane there's a corpse chasing us!" Sy blurted out, feeling tears build up in his eyes. "I lost Jaden! I lost him; he could be dead for all I know!"

"Whoa, Sy, calm down," Alexis said, blinking in confusion. "What do you mean a…corpse is chasing you?"

"You mean like out of a horror movie?" Atticus grinned jokingly. "How awesome!"

"It's not! You have to help Jaden!" Sy exclaimed desperately.

He felt the water around him move and wheeled around to see Chazz swimming past him, giving him another annoyed glance.

"It's probably just someone playing a joke on you. If you weren't such a baby it wouldn't be a big problem," Chazz said coldly, while resting up against the bank.

"Please, you have to believe me!" Sy shouted, breathing heavily. "It's real! Jaden and I opened a sarcophagus and—"

"You what?" Bastion asked curiously. "You mean in that place where those missing students were found?"

"Well gee, I imagine that's the only place that carries sarcophaguses," Chazz said.

"Sarcophagi," Atticus corrected and Chazz shot him a glare.

"Zane, please! Please, you have to tell the principal! There was some kind of curse! Zane, you have t—AHH!" Sy suddenly screamed as something grabbed hold of him.

The others looked surprised as hands flailed in the air. Seconds later, Jaden came up for air, holding tightly onto him.

"Great, another twerp, just what we need," Chazz commented dryly. "And I thought it would be a peaceful night."

"Jaden! Oh Jaden, you're alright!" Sy squeezed him, still shivering.

Jaden gasped for air and nodded. "Did you see it? Where did it go?"

"I don't know! I lost you and I thought it got you!"

"Wait, you two can't be serious about a corpse," Chazz snorted, giving them an amused sneer. "Please, that is so childish."

"It's the truth!" Jaden exclaimed, wading forward and glancing at all of them.

"Uh…Jaden, hate to tell you bud but corpses can't usually swim," Atticus commented, as Alexis rolled her eyes at her brother's usual stupid commentary.

Jaden came closer and stood up in the shallow water. "You guys have to listen, it's no joke! It just tried to drown me a few minutes ago."

"Obviously, someone's playing a prank," Zane commented without much emotion, while he folded his arms across his bare chest.

Alexis nodded in agreement, pushing her hair away so it wouldn't become entangled into her bikini. "Exactly. It's not unheard of for people to hide out around here and scare the younger students, especially the ones from the Slifer dorm."

"But this thing was _real_!" Jaden exclaimed gesturing wildly with his hands. "You guys, I felt its skin!"

"It was probably a costume," Bastion suggested as Atticus nodded.

Sy realized they were getting no where and he didn't blame them for not believing them. He could scarcely believe it himself, but it couldn't have been someone in disguise. They had really tried to drown Jaden and no student would go that far. The water against his back moved and Sy felt the hairs on his neck rise. His eyes widened as Jaden continued to argue with them. Trembling in place, Sy very slowly turned his head around. A gaping mouth was the first thing he saw before rotted out eye sockets greeted him. Before he could even gasp a loud scream escaped his mouth.

"JADEN HELP!" Sy screamed, wheeling around and launching himself to swim away.

All heads turned, startled but Sy didn't even get far before a rough, bony hand grabbed him. An arm, strangely without a hand, wrapped around his torso and squeezed so tightly he thought he was going to suffocate.

"Syrus, no!" Jaden exclaimed, making a move to step forward.

"Whoa, that is some costume," Atticus commented, grinning. "Dude, where'd you get that?"

"Atticus!" Alexis scolded, sending him an irritated glance.

"Zane! Zane he—"

Sy was suddenly cut off as the corpse submerged him underwater, keeping a strong grip on him.

"SYRUS!" Jaden screamed, launching forward only to find himself hit in the face by a bony hand that sent him sprawling backward right into Bastion.

"Hey, stop it!" Alexis shouted. "You're going to drown him!"

"Dude! Chill out," Atticus said, his smile fading.

"That's enough!" Zane said boldly, unfolding his arms as he glared icily at the figure. "Let him go."

"I'll take care of this punk!" Chazz exclaimed, glaring as he swam over. "This is for disturbing the Chazz's peace and quiet!"

His arm flailed out and he punched the face, hearing bones crack beneath him. Although there didn't appear to be any damage it sent the figure falling backward enough to let go of Sy, who broke through the surface coughing and sputtering for air.

"Syrus!" Jaden exclaimed, rushing toward him and grabbing his arm to pull him away.

"Sy, are you alright?" Zane asked quietly as Jaden swam quickly until they were with the group.

Sy shook his head desperately with tears in his eyes. "Zane, it's real! It's not a person! And it's going to kill us!"

"Calm down, Sy," Alexis said, touching his shoulder gently. "Look, we're not going to let this punk get away with this. We'll let the principal know he's gone as far as almost drowning you and Jaden."

"Chazz, look out!" Jaden shouted.

The corpse lurched above the surface of the water and made a move toward Chazz who grabbed the bony arm. In a split second, they heard a snap and the arm came off. Silence flooded over all of them as they all stared in disbelief. Chazz's wide eyes were blinking down at the broken off arm.

"Is that thing mechanical or something?" Atticus wondered out loud.

"Do you see any bolts?" Jaden cast an annoying glance at him.

"This is ridiculous!" Chazz exclaimed, tossing the arm, which happened to land right next to Alexis, who gave it a distasteful look.

"Let me see that, Lex," he said, getting her to hand it to him unwillingly. "Hey, this thing is real, feel it?" he said, holding it out toward Zane and Bastion.

"That's impossible!" Bastion exclaimed, touching the dried-up skin. "It does feel real…but who would buy something so real to scare people?"

"Whatever it is, it has guts!" Chazz exclaimed, looking at his arm where a yellowish thick liquid was dripping down his arm.

"Ewww!" Alexis exclaimed.

The water suddenly burst all around them and the corpse flung upward, rising up above the water. It grabbed Chazz's arm and began to twist it.

"LET GO OF THE CHAZZ!" he shouted, trying to break free of the grip.

"Hang on, Chazz," Atticus shouted, swimming toward him.

The two of them fought against the corpse and finally Atticus grabbed its head and tore it off, causing Alexis to gasp and Sy to dig his face in the crook of Jaden's neck. The head was thrown onto the bank and Atticus brushed his hands together.

"There we go; problem solved."

"Thanks," Chazz said sarcastically as he wiped the yellowish stuff into the water and off his arm.

The corpse had sunk beneath the water and Sy stared at the head that was lying on the bank. He saw it quiver slightly and he grabbed onto Jaden more tightly.

"It's…it's still alive!" he shrieked, pointing.

All eyes turned toward the head and Chazz glared at him. "It's not alive anymore! It wasn't even alive to begin w—"

His sentence was cut off as the water burst all around them and the corpse rose up once again, headless. Chazz backed away from it seemingly disgusted. The head of it suddenly flew into the air and hovered above the body. Slowly, as they all watched, it reattached itself to the body along with the arm that Chazz had broken off. The hollow eyes bored onto them once more and very slowly its entire body began to glow eerily.

"Holy duel monsters, it's like it's real!" Atticus shouted.

Alexis let out a scream as her body was suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force. Atticus jumped up and grabbed her, pulling her back down before she was flung away.

"Let's get out of here!" Jaden shouted.

Immediately, all of them jumped out of the water and began to run. Zane led them toward the Obelisk blue bathrooms, where they had a separate small building with their own private hot tub and everything inside. He led them there and Bastion and Chazz closed and locked the doors. The reason they were led in there was because no one was in there and there was only one door to get in and out.

"Are we safe?" Sy asked, trembling even as Jaden wrapped his arms securely around him.

"Once I find out which punk is messing with the Chazz he's going to be sorry!" Chazz exclaimed angrily.

"Oh please, give it a rest," Atticus commented, earning an angrily glare from him.

Zane's eyes narrowed. "What I don't understand is how they got such advanced technology."

"It's not technology!" Jaden exclaimed impatiently. "Can't you guys just believe what you see! Look, Sy and I opened a sarcophagus and that's the corpse from inside it!"

"And Chumley is still out there," Sy whispered fearfully.

"You expect us to believe a real corpse is walking around?" Chazz shouted at him while crossing his arms over his chest.

"What about the way it glowed?" Jaden countered desperately.

"That is strange," Bastion said, rubbing his chin in wonder. "You know, logically there's no way it could've done that without being plugged in or having some electrical charge, but if it did it wouldn't be able to go in water."

"Exactly!" Jaden exclaimed.

"I still can't believe it," Alexis shook her head. "There's no way that mummies and live corpses are real."

"They aren't!" Chazz snorted, looking away distastefully. "Slifers just happen to be more gullible than anyone else."

"Chazz!" Jaden gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Stop arguing like children," Zane said firmly, glancing at the two of them carelessly with his intense gaze. "We need to get out of here and alert the principal of this troublemaker."

"I agree," Bastion nodded.

"Fine!" Chazz spat, unlocking the door. "Let's go."

"Wait! W-what if it's still out there?" Sy stammered.

Zane glanced at his brother. "Don't worry Sy, we outnumber him."

With that, he walked where Chazz and Atticus were and Bastion and Alexis followed. Jaden held tightly onto Sy's hand and nodded toward him. The two of them followed the others as the door was opened.

"Well, seems like he's run off like a dog with its tail between its legs," Chazz snorted.

"Who is doing this?" Alexis wondered. "It's not funny at all. They could get expelled."

"I'm not sure, but I think it's time to pay a visit to the principal," he said coolly.

The group of them walked back toward the main building and entered, heading up to the principal's room. Bastion knocked on the door and thankfully the principal was still up, though he was yawning when he opened the door.

"Zane, Bastion…what are you all doing up so late?" he asked, blinking at the group of them.

"There's a troublemaker by the hot springs. He tried to drown both Sy and Jaden and fought the rest of us too," Zane said with no emotion in his voice, just a cool, calm tone.

"What? Are you serious? One of my students is doing that?" Principal Shepphard's expression turned grim. "Can you describe what they look like?"

"Unfortunately, no," Zane commented smoothly with a dark expression on his face. "They were hiding behind a robotic representation of a zombie."

Principal Shepphard sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright, I'll deal with it in the morning. For right now, you all should get some sleep, but thank you for reporting this to me."

Nodding, Zane turned around and the others followed. Sy glanced at Jaden nervously who just shook his head, telling him silently that there was nothing more they could do. Once they all got outside, Zane headed off toward the Obelisk blue dorms followed by Atticus, Chazz and Alexis in silence, though Chazz still seemed annoyed. Bastion headed toward the Ra dorms and Jaden and Sy silently walked together toward the Slifer dorms, with Sy jumping at every little sound.

When they got back they saw that Chumley was fast asleep, probably since he got tired of waiting for them to come back and decided to head back by himself. Sy again had to sleep with Jaden, frightened that the corpse would find its way into their room.

"It'll be alright, Sy," Jaden said quietly in the darkness of their room. "Perhaps they were right; it could've been someone playing a prank."

"Jaden, it had to have been real! It was just like the corpse in the sarcophagus and the one from my nightmare!" he whispered fearfully, tightening his grip around his boyfriend's arm.

"Look, it seems to have given up for now, whatever it is. Don't worry, Zane and the others will help us find out what's going on. And now the principal knows. Let's just try and get some sleep and hopefully by tomorrow sometime we'll know if it was a prank or not," Jaden said quietly, squeezing his hand before he closed his eyes.

Sy realized he had no choice but to try and sleep. Hopefully with Jaden sleeping by his side he wouldn't have any nightmares. It's true that it could've been a prank, but the person, if it was a person, really tried to drown them. And if it was a real corpse, what did that mean? Had they really triggered some kind of curse by entering that underground place? He wanted to believe curses and mummies weren't real, but he was having a hard time after being chased by that thing. Hopefully they were right and it was all a prank and that student would eventually be caught and expelled. Bringing his body closer to Jaden's, Sy shut his eyes and concentrated on sleep. To calm his nerves, his free hand twisted the ring on his hand, praying once again he wouldn't have any nightmares. It seemed that strange things were taking place once again, but hopefully nothing bad would happen.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

**Author's Note: If you guys are wondering what the words in Sy's dream meant, don't worry you'll know soon enough. :-)**

To Reviewers: 

**Sillvog: **Lol! I'm glad you like the updates though. This is yet another long one, huh:-) Thank you! I'm glad my writing is clear enough to understand. Yes, that darn ring, lol! Don't worry, it won't stay a mystery for too long. Hopefully I can update this again soon.

**Ac-the-brain-supreme: **Hehehe, that's true. Sy is cute when he's scared. Lol! Well, I really hope to update this again soon, thanks!

**Senachan141: **Awww, thank you! I'm so glad you like my writing style. Sometimes I feel like it gets repetitive and I try to change things around, so hopefully it reads pretty well. Yes, poor Sy, he's scared out of his mind. :-) Wow…that doesn't sound fun…being locked in a dark room…I guess you can certainly feel for Sy. Lol! That made me laugh, what you said about Sy turning into a girl. Very interesting outlook and it would be quite funny, but I can assure you he won't. Chazz on the other hand…no, j/k. :-)

**PowHammer: **Thank you! I tried to update asap, so hopefully this was worth the short wait:-)

**DarkElixier66: **Thanks! Yes, poor Sy, getting scared once again, however for a very good reason. Unfortunately, the scariness is not over yet. :-)

**Just Someone: **Lol! Yes, the eerie glow does help to clue you into something disastrous, right? Thanks for proofreading the chapter; sometimes I miss things. I wasn't sure if you were talking about the part where "tears were beginning to well up in his eyes." I think I did mean to say well up, but it would've been better to say swell up or build up, right? Thanks again!

**Ronin32: **Lol! Yep our poor characters are in for it now! Awwww, thanks! I'll try and keep the chapters coming. I'm sorry you have writer's block; man I hate when that happens. Don't panic too much; it'll come to you eventually. :-)

**Lilicat93: **Aww, thanks! Yes, a blushing Sy is so adorable. He does blush a lot doesn't he? Yeah, Chumley wasn't my favorite character either. That's why he's not one of the main characters. I also don't really like how they portray Sy as always looking so weak in the series, you know? Like Jaden saves the day all the time and the other characters are left in the dark, not really doing anything. In this story, Jaden won't be saving the day alone, lol! But anyway, thanks again! I'll update asap!


	5. The Curse

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 4: The Curse**

Biting his nails nervously, Sy sat at the large stone outside the main building of the school waiting for Jaden to get out of a brief detention. Apparently, he was failing _Duel Monsters Theories and Strategies_ class so he had to stay late and get a lecture from the teacher. Out of some stretch of luck, Sy was passing that class with a 'C' despite its difficulty. Today was the day that Jaden suggested he talk to Zane and confess about their relationship. It was true, they had only been going out for a few days but at the same time he'd rather Zane found out sooner than later. Even with that thought though, he couldn't quite grasp how he was going to break it to him or how he would react. In his dream, the reaction hadn't been good at all. Zane had not only been mad, but he had gotten so disgusted he had turned into a zombie and started muttering things in what sounded like a made-up language.

Thinking of his dream reminded him of the strange occurrence the previous night. Principal Sheppard had tried to figure out which student had done the prank of the zombie in the hot springs, but so far there was no evidence anyone had done it. That unnerved him the most. He honestly didn't care if the student was expelled or not as long as he found out it _was_ a student and not the corpse from the sarcophagus. Jaden was now convinced it had been a prank (like the others believed) and joked about it now and again through the day, especially when he saw Chazz, Bastion and Alexis in one of their classes. Syrus had tried to put on a false smile, but it was difficult because he had felt _it_ hold him down under water. The skin had been coarse, like a dried up prune and the smell had been bad too. What was weird was the strength it had; if it was a robot, how could it have been so strong and how could it touch the water?

These questions had plagued him through the day. Sure, a part of him wanted to believe the rationality of the situation about mummies and corpses not really being able to come to life. Then again, he had thought Duel Monsters was just a game and found out about the Shadow Realm and the weird power it had. It wasn't normal to be able to suck up people's souls or play for souls in a game. If that could happen, was it really a far stretch to think a corpse could come back to life? He kept thinking to what Chumley had said about a curse being placed on the tomb or sanctuary it had been in.

"Hey Sy!"

Blinking, he stood up and turned to see Jaden running toward him, flushed. He couldn't help but think that Jaden looked sort of cute when he was out-of-breath. Fighting down a blush, Sy waved to him and in seconds they were together.

"So, did you decide if you're going to go to Zane's or not?"

"I…will," Sy played with his lower lip, "but not until tonight. I don't want to do it right now while he's studying so I'll wait until after dinner."

"Alright," Jaden grinned, throwing an arm around him. "Then I promise not to kiss you until after you tell him."

"Jaden!" Sy blushed vividly, thankful that they were the only ones walking around at that time.

Grinning, his boyfriend just winked and gazed forward at the scenery. "You're still shy about us Sy?"

"It's…not that," he blushed darker. "I mean, I don't mind if people find out, after I tell Zane of course, but…I don't know. I just get embarrassed I guess because I'm not that…you know…experienced with relationships."

Pulling him closer, he gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't worry, neither am I."

For the first time, Sy didn't blush and just smiled warmly at him. "I thought you said you weren't going to kiss me."

"I meant on the lips," Jaden countered, ruffling his hair.

Sy just gave him another smile and the two of them walked toward the cafeteria for some food. They didn't notice the figure watching them from a distance.

Throughout the day, Sy became more and more anxious despite Jaden's attempts at cheering him up. When dinner finally rolled around, he was too sick to his stomach to eat. The three of them were sitting in the cafeteria for dinner (since it was closer to the other dorms). Chumley was very calm about the situation saying that since Zane was family he'd have to approve. Sy wasn't so sure about that, especially since Jaden wasn't his brother's most favorite person. Finally, Sy realized he couldn't hold off any longer or it'd be getting close to bedtime. He told Jaden he'd rather he and Chumley weren't there since he wasn't sure how long it would take to talk to Zane. And because he'd rather they didn't get involved. He walked to the Obelisk dorms by himself, shivering from the sudden cold wind that had begun to pick up speed. When he reached the door, he had second thoughts and almost turned around.

"Come on Sy, do it," he whispered aloud.

Shaking from the cold and anxiety, he knocked loudly. It didn't take long for someone to answer and thankfully it was Chazz. Although Sy was relieved, Chazz didn't seem too thrilled to see him.

"What are you doing here Slifer slacker," he said, holding a spoon in his right hand and a small tub of ice cream in his left.

"I'm here to see my brother," Sy answered, putting on a brave face.

Chazz gave him a look, snorted and then turned around and walked away. He left the door ajar so Sy slipped inside and closed it. His hands were becoming clammy from his jumbled nerves so he wiped them on his pants and walked up the stairs toward his brother's room. A part of him hoped that Zane was sleeping. Perhaps it would be better to leave him a note saying: _Dear Zane, I just wanted to let you know I'm dating Jaden. And we've suddenly decided to leave Duelist Academy and move someplace where you can't find us. Love, Sy. _

Sy's eyes widened as he approached the room door. He shakily raised a hand ready to knock and then stopped. Maybe he should take a few minutes to think of what he was going to say. Pulling his hand away, Sy stood in front of the door trying to come up with something. He heard footsteps and turned to see Chazz walking by. The older teen stopped eating his ice cream and gave him his normal skeptical look.

"Are you going to knock or stand there looking stupid? Here, let me help you," Chazz said, walking forward.

"N-no, Chazz, it's okay, I can do it…"

His protests went unheard as Chazz pounded on the door, gave him a smirk and walked down the hall toward his own room. The door opened and Sy nearly squeaked aloud. Zane appeared in the doorway dressed only in his comfortable sleep pants. He glanced down at him and for a second neither said a word.

"Sy, what are you doing here?" Zane asked finally.

"I…I just…," he trailed off, gulping. "I need to um…to talk to you."

"Can't it wait until morning?"

It wasn't that he sounded annoyed but that he probably thought what Sy wanted to talk about was just something that happened at school; something unimportant that didn't need to be said right away. He was tempted to agree, but his head shook no.

"I should tell you now," Sy said, glancing down at his feet.

Zane stared at him passively and after a slight hesitation moved out of the way. It was almost like déjà vu because it reminded him of his dream. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as scary. The door closed behind them and Sy tensed. He stood in the room uncertainly as Zane walked over by his bed and stopped. He knew Zane was waiting for him to speak, but he wasn't sure he could get the words out of his mouth.

"Sy, I don't have all night," Zane said quietly, albeit firmly.

Nodding, Sy wrung his hands together. "Okay…here it goes," he murmured. "Zane, I…"

His sentence was cut off as the lights above them began flickering. The walls around them suddenly trembled subtly and Sy's heart nearly lodged in his throat.

"W-what was that?" he stammered.

Zane got up and went to the window and looked out. "It's probably just a storm coming."

Sy tried not to gulp although it was hard with his brother in the same position as the dream. His back was turned as he stared out the window. His brother then turned and stared at him as he folded his arms over his chest.

"What is it you want to say?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

"It's about…well, about Jaden," Sy managed to get out.

Zane's eyes narrowed. "What about him is so important that you needed to see me so late?"

He knew that tone of voice; Zane was probably tired and thought Sy's concern wasn't as important as his studying. He bit his lip as he tried his best not to show he was upset.

"Zane, it's important that you should know that…that Jaden and I are…," Sy suddenly stopped as if his mouth had froze.

"Are what?" Zane asked impatiently.

Sy didn't answer; his eyes weren't focused on his brother, but rather past him. His eyes were wide and terrified with what he saw but for some reason he couldn't move. Zane was staring at him with crossed arms.

"Sy," he closed his eyes momentarily, "I have to get to bed. If you're not going to talk then it can wait until mor—"

"ZANE WATCH OUT!" Sy screamed suddenly, cutting him off.

His brother glanced at him surprised just before the patio windows behind him shattered. Zane was thrown off balance and something slimy tightened around his entire body. Sy stood paralyzed as a huge sickly blue vine wound its way into the room. It had trapped Zane, holding him tightly as it lifted him off the ground.

"Run, Sy!" Zane shouted, struggling within the grasp of the large, abnormal plant.

"Zane, no!" Sy exclaimed as he fought back tears. How was he just supposed to leave his brother there?

Fighting against the strong grip of the plant, Zane managed to shout: "Go find help!"

"ZANE!" Sy screamed as he watched the plant completely engulf his brother.

The sickly blue vines that entered the room were rapidly coming toward him. He didn't have time to try and save Zane. Fearfully, he dashed out of the room and ran down the halls.

"Chazz! CHAZZ!" he screamed loudly, hoping that the other teen was alright.

A door burst open and Chazz walked out with a toothbrush hanging from his mouth. Sy rushed toward him breathlessly. Chazz glared at him angrily, dressed in a dark blue bathrobe.

"What are you screaming about? People have to sleep you know!"

"Zane's in trouble!" Sy said quickly, pointing to his room. "You have to help! Some…some blue plant got him!"

Chazz's eyebrow rose. "First a live corpse and now a blue plant? Isn't there someone else you can bother with your stories?"

Sy's eyes widened. "You mean, nothing's in your room? You didn't feel that earthquake?"

"Earthquake? I think the principal would've warned us about that. And no, nothing's in my room and I intend to keep it that way!" he said, making a move to slam his door shut.

"No, wait, please! Please just come and look!" Sy begged as his eyes began to tear. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Alright! You're giving me a headache," he complained as he stomped toward Zane's room.

As he followed closely behind, Sy wondered why the plant had only been in Zane's room. Chazz pushed open the door, scowling. "Now tell me where you saw this figment of your imagination!"

"R-right there!" Sy stammered, pointing.

Chazz turned his head in annoyance and suddenly his eyes widened in shock. "What the hell!"

The vine lashed out toward him and Chazz slammed the door shut quickly. The plant however was a lot stronger than they thought for it was rapidly trying to break down the door. Sy screamed as a piece of the vine began peeking through the hole it had created. Chazz was running away from it in a flash with Sy following right behind him.

"What about Zane?" Sy shouted after him, as they headed for the front door.

Chazz glanced back at him irritably. "What about me? I'm not risking my life fighting an alien plant!"

"I need to find Jaden!" Sy shouted angrily, running past him.

He opened the door and let out another scream. Outside, vines were sprouting up all through the ground. In the distance, he could hear students screaming. Sy's stomach felt extremely queasy now; he didn't know what was going on but he couldn't let the hideous plant get Jaden too!

"Hey, where are you going?" Chazz shouted behind him, as Sy took off running.

"I have to find Jaden!"

Chazz scowled and said something under his breath but ran after him. A vine thrust up from the ground in front of him and Chazz shouted angrily: "The Chazz is _not_ going to be defeated by an ugly plant!"

He ducked beneath its blow and ran even faster. He caught up with Sy in no time and the two headed toward the screams. Students were flailing their arms in the air as the vines held onto them tight. Sy had to find Jaden soon! He let out a gasp as the ground trembled violently. He swayed back and forth, hoping not to fall near one of the vines already beginning to sprout.

"DAMMIT!" Chazz shouted behind him.

Sy wheeled around to see that a vine had wrapped around Chazz's ankle.

"Chazz!"

"Just go!" Chazz shouted, glaring at the vine as he dug his nails into the ground. "I can take care of myself!"

Reluctantly, Sy turned and ran, dodging past screaming students and vines that thrust up from underground. A couple times he felt them beneath his feet, but he kept running. He didn't know where to run; he was scared.

"JADEN!" Sy screamed, almost falling over as a vine sprung nearby.

Someone squealed nearby and Sy stopped as he saw Dr. Crowler screeching in his light purple robe.

"Help! Get this ugly thing off me!" he screeched again in his high-pitched voice.

"Dr. Crowler!" Syrus exclaimed, frightened.

He glanced down and his eyes lightened as he saw Syrus. "Slacker, I mean Syden, whatever your name is! Find the principal! Find him and tell him to contact Kaiba to tell him his school is being overrun by aliens!" he screamed. "HURRY!"

Sy jumped startled and gasped as the vine encircled Dr. Crowler, drowning out his feminine squeals and screams. He ran and suddenly stumbled as something threw him off his feet. Falling onto the ground, he spit as dirt flew in his face. Inclining his head, he turned and stared wide-eyed at the sickly blue plant hovering over him. Fearfully, he tried to scoot back on the ground away from it. He screamed as something erupted behind him and he wheeled his head around to see yet another vine hovering over him. His eyes began to fill with tears of fear, imagining his self being pulled away like Zane.

"Syrus!"

Gasping, he turned in surprise to see Jaden running toward him followed by Alexis. They were dodging vines that tried to wrap around them. Thankfully, to his relief, they made it to him and he scrambled to get to his feet.

"Jaden! I was so scared you had been taken like Zane!" Sy cried out, embracing him tightly.

"Zane's been taken?" Alexis' eyes widened. "But we were going to look for him."

"After finding you of course," Jaden said, giving him a small smile.

Sy's big grey eyes stared at him fearfully. "Jaden…what's going on? What are these things?"

"WATCH OUT!" Alexis screamed.

Jaden pushed Sy down to the ground as one of the vines that had been hovering over him lashed out toward the taller boy.

"Sy run!" Jaden echoed the same words his brother had said.

Shaking his head firmly, Sy shouted: "No! I won't leave you!"

"We have to get out of here!" Alexis shouted, glancing nervously at the vine nearby.

The vine in front of them whipped out toward Jaden and Sy screamed, jumping in front of him suddenly. The vine stopped mid-thrust and suddenly lurched back up. It hovered over them as it had done to Sy beforehand. The younger teen blinked in confusion even as his heartbeat pounded.

"Did you see that Sy? It stopped when you jumped in front of me," Jaden said in awe. "Maybe the plant senses love or something."

Sy glanced up at him with concern. "I don't know Jaden, but it's still too dangerous! We have to hid—"

"AHHHH!" a loud feminine scream filled the air.

Both Sy and Jaden jumped, startled and turned to see Alexis being pulled up by her arm by an incredibly slimy vine. Jaden made a move to help her, but Sy shook his head pointing at the other vines sprouting from the ground.

"Alexis!" Jaden shouted.

She let out another scream and struggled. "Jaden! Syrus! Just get out of here! Maybe you can find the principal and get hel…"

Her last word was drowned out as the vine wrapped around her, enclosing her whole body into its grasp. Jaden pulled him away and the two of them ran away from the vines. Jaden had to jump over one that was about to burst from under his feet.

"Jaden, where are we going?" Sy panted as they ran alongside one another.

"The whole academy has been overrun by those vines!" Jaden shouted back, watching out for any more of them. "There is no place that's safe! But maybe if they are sensitive to love, then we can keep them away. We just have to get off the ground and climb up somewhere!"

"What about a tree?" Sy suggested, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

"Great idea, Sy!" Jaden exclaimed, heading toward the small forest nearby the hot springs.

Sy kept up with him even though his legs were tired and his lungs were aching. They ran toward the nearest tree and Jaden jumped and grabbed the branch. Once he was up he quickly reached out and grabbed Sy's hand. Soon they were both huddled in the tree watching as more and more vines surrounded their school. The whole place was covered in them.

"J…do you think…all the students were taken?" Sy whispered as he clung onto his arm.

Jaden wrapped in a tight embrace, trying to comfort him. "I don't know, Sy. It doesn't look good."

"What about the principal? And the teachers? Dr. Crowler told me to find the principal, but…," Sy's eyes dimmed, "there's just too much chaos. And he's probably been taken too."

Pulling him closer and planting a kiss on his forehead, Jaden rubbed his back soothingly. Sy was beginning to calm down until one of the vines suddenly sprang up and wrapped its slimy body around the tree. Screaming, Sy clung to Jaden and practically threw his self in his boyfriend's lap. Another vine joined it and wrapped around the entire tree and Jaden had to pull them away. The leaves were only partially protecting them. Although the vines got really close to them, they never pulled them out of the tree.

"Jaden look!" Sy shouted, pointing with wide, fearful eyes.

The two of them stared out toward the school where they had run from to see that the ground was splitting. The school was beginning to crumble and all the dorms were falling. The ground was opening wider and wider, getting ready to swallow the remains of the school as if it were nothing. Sy sniffled as his eyes stung with tears. He buried his face in the crook of Jaden's neck and the both of them remained in the embrace, watching as their school fell.

"AHHH!" Sy let out a scream as the tree began to tremble.

The ground beneath them was splitting as well and they knew it would swallow the tree along with them.

"Jaden, what do we do?" Sy shouted as tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes.

"Hold on!" he shouted as he kept a firm grip around Sy.

The tree began to fall and suddenly something wrapped around Sy's waist. It lifted him up and he screamed, reaching out to try and grasp Jaden's hand. He saw Jaden's wide brown eyes as he began to fall backward toward the crumbling ground. Sy screamed and cried and struggled within the vine's grasp to no avail. His boyfriend soon disappeared beneath the ground like everyone else had. Tears were falling from his eyes and his shoulders were shaking with each sob. The vine lifted his body high into the sky and Sy screamed, thrashing around to try and loosen its grip. His screaming stopped suddenly, however, when his eyes set sight on something floating in the sky. As the vine was bringing him closer, Sy let out another scream as the rotted flesh of the corpse came into view. Those sunken eyes stared at him as if seeing everything.

"No! LET ME GO! HELP! Jaden! Zane! Someone!" Sy screamed loudly, thrashing with his arms since his legs were completely bound.

The corpse reached out its decaying fingers toward him—using the arm that had been torn off before. Sy screamed with tears running freely as the rough, smelly hand wrapped around his throat. For a corpse, its strength was more powerful than expected. Sy's windpipe was blocked instantly as it squeezed tightly. He gagged as his air supply was cut off and thrashed even harder. Instinctively, he grasped the corpse's wrist, trying to pry it off him. The rotted face which was now decayed flesh and bone leaned down toward him.

"_Înķ_ _Amun-Ra nŤr âA_," it hissed in the same foreign tongue as before.

Sy was feeling light-headed now as the corpse kept his windpipe blocked. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as the corpse hissed by his ear: "_Ânkh_ _ĥëh_…"

**XXXXX**

"SY! SYRUS!"

Gasping for air, Sy's eyes snapped open. He coughed and sputtered, leaning on his side as he took deep breaths. Jaden and Chumley were both hovering over him looking frightened. Sy clutched his throat and shakily sat up.

"W-where are we?"

"We're in our room, Sy. You were having another nightmare and you suddenly stopped breathing!" Jaden exclaimed, showing his concern.

"You were screaming too," Chumley added.

"It was…a dream?" Sy sighed with relief.

"Are you alright?" Jaden asked, brushing a strand of his hair back.

Sy nodded immediately. He was so grateful it had all been a nightmare. It had felt so real…

"Does your throat hurt?" Jaden asked, reaching out to touch his hand.

Sy removed his hand from his throat and Jaden's eyes widened. "Sy…what happened?"

Glancing down at his throat where both Jaden and Chumley were staring, Sy let out a gasp as he saw his neck was black and blue, as if someone had squeezed him so hard some of his veins had burst.

"No…it can't be," Sy stuttered barely above a whisper. "Jaden...I dreamed...I dreamed that corpse had come after me again! Everyone was taken and Duel Academy was destroyed! And the corpse…it strangled me."

"Whoa…not licious," Chumley said quietly.

Jaden shook his head. "Sy, how can dreams or nightmares come true?"

"I don't know! It's like the same dream before only different! But he said the same thing in a strange language to me! Jaden, maybe it is a curse! Maybe because we opened the tomb I'm cursed!" he shouted desperately, grabbing onto Jaden's shirt.

"Calm down, Sy. We can figure this out," Jaden said, giving him a hug. "Do you remember what the thing said?"

"I think so…but I wouldn't be able to spell it out. Why?"

Grinning, Jaden released him. "Professor Wilder might know what it means. She knows a lot about different languages. Remember, she told us she used to teach Ancient Civilizations at the school before this?"

Sy let out a sigh and rubbed his sore neck. "Alright…it's worth a shot, I guess."

"She should be in her office, since it happens to be breakfast time."

The three of them got dressed and left the dorm, heading toward the teacher's lounge. The separate offices were right by it. As they approached her door, they were startled when Dr. Crowler opened it and came walking out.

"What are you three doing here?" he asked unpleasantly.

Sy pictured him being swept up by the vine like in his dream wailing like a girl. "We're seeing Professor Wilder for a class project."

Dr. Crowler glared at them and settled his eyes more firmly on Jaden before he stalked away. After knocking, the door was opened and Professor Wilder greeted them.

"I'm surprised to see you here. Is there something I can do?"

"We need help on…a translation," Jaden said, smiling innocently.

Blinking, she nodded and let them into the room. As she approached her desk, while her breakfast was laid out on it, she sat down and began eating.

"What sort of translation is it?" she asked.

"We're not sure," Jaden said, pulling Sy with him up to the desk. "Sy can sound out the words to you."

Clearing his throat, Sy repeated what he remembered from his dream. He was certain he was pronouncing the words incorrectly. Professor Wilder stopped chewing and swallowed.

"Hmm…sounds Egyptian to me."

Surprised, Sy glanced at Jaden who shrugged. "So…do you know what it means?"

"Not exactly. I'm a little rusty on that language. It's a dead language now, you know. People in Egypt now speak Arabic, but that sounds like the original Egyptian. One word did catch my attention. Amun-Ra; that is what you said, correct?" she glanced up at them and Sy nodded uncertainly. "Amun-Ra was the God that the Egyptians used to worship. Sometimes though, if there was a high priest or a vizier, who was close to the Pharaoh, they would call him after a God to show linage to divinity. That normally would keep them as Pharaoh, at least for a little longer."

"So…Amun-Ra is a name?" Sy asked and she nodded in return. "But what does the rest mean?"

"I'm not sure. The library might have some information about Egypt. You might be able to find a couple translations there. Is this for a project?"

"Uh…just for fun, actually," Jaden laughed as she gave him a suspicious glance.

"Thanks," Sy said quickly, pushing both Jaden and Chumley out of the office.

"Okay…so now we have to research it," Jaden said.

"You guys go ahead. I'm going to go get breakfast," Chumley said.

Jaden smiled knowingly. "Alright, Chum. See you later."

Sy waved to him and then turned to Jaden. "Do you think I'm cursed?"

Bending down close to him, Jaden kissed him deeply. Sy paused in their walking to wrap his arms around Jaden's neck as the kiss deepened. He made a sound in the back of his throat as he felt warm fingers beneath his shirt on his back. They broke apart and Jaden trailed his hand up and down Sy's back, relaxing him.

"If you are cursed, we'll find a way around it. Until we know for sure, don't worry," he smiled.

Sy nodded and they continued walking toward the library. "Say, J…um…I was planning to tell Zane about us today, but I feel like I should have something planned."

"You have to tell him sometime and no matter how you try and phrase it, it's going to mean the same thing," Jaden said honestly. "You're just going to have to get it over with."

"You're right," the smaller teen sighed.

The library wasn't full at all so there was no one there to bother them. Jaden asked the librarian where to look for books on Egypt and they were pointed in the right direction. They took out every single book that looked like it might have something. Unfortunately, most of the books were pretty long. Sy slumped down at the table and began flipping through one.

"This is going to take forever," Jaden muttered as he sat down next to him.

"I know…and I don't even know where to look. There's nothing about speaking the ancient Egyptian language…at least none of the books are titled like that," he sighed heavily.

"Why don't we look up Amun-Ra?" Jaden suggested.

Sy's eyes brightened and he nodded. The two of them flipped through the pages and a couple times Amun-Ra was mentioned as being the formation of two gods: Amun, who was the king of the Egyptian gods and Ra who was the Egyptian sun-God. Most pharaohs claimed to be descendants of Ra to show their divinity, but other than that there didn't seem to be any more information.

"There's nothing here!" Sy whined, banging his head on the desk. "I'm doomed."

"Hold on…," Jaden said quietly, stopping at a page. "I think there's something here."

Sy blinked and turned to him, glancing over his shoulder. "What does it say?"

" '_Ever_ _since the reign of the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes, there are been many dynasties that have followed. Some pharaohs like Pepi I ruled for many years, but others like Tutankhamun lived short lives…,' _" Jaden skimmed the paragraph then continued. " '_A pharaoh was treated like a God, because they claimed divinity from their God Ra. Some pharaohs were so cruel that they had laws for everything and many were punishable by death. Some forms of torture were to be bound up and thrown in the Nile or even sacrificed at an altar, but the worst of all was the cursed ritual. It was a ritual performed very few times for it required a ghastly crime. All crimes committed against the pharaoh were punishable by death, but if there was a crime committed against their supreme God Amun-Ra, then a person would suffer a terrible death. It's not clear exactly what happens to the person, but they suffer in their present life as well as their after-life. The Amun-Ra curse is by far the worst way to die.' _"

After Jaden finished, Sy glanced up at him in confusion. "So…it is a curse?"

"Seems there is an Amun-Ra curse, but what does that have to do with you? You didn't commit any crimes."

"Well…maybe the corpse did," Sy responded quietly. "Maybe he suffered the curse of Amun-Ra; maybe we woke up his spirit. It says they would suffer in the after-life too, which means their souls probably wouldn't move on."

"So you think we woke up this corpse's restless soul?" Jaden asked, raising his eyebrows.

Sy nodded hesitantly. "I think so…I mean, it makes sense. If the corpse or person in the tomb was cursed because of something they did, then opening that tomb probably set its soul free."

"Wow…this is definitely different than the Shadow Riders," Jaden commented nervously. "I'm used to fighting enemies who want to duel, but…this corpse I doubt wants to duel, if it is real."

"Do you think…that corpse wasn't robotic then? That it was searching for us to kill us because we awakened it?" Sy asked, his tone dripping with fear.

"I don't know, Sy. I wish we knew more about that place where the sarcophagus was buried and why an Egyptian tomb was buried there."

"Wait! Couldn't we contact an expert online or something?" Sy asked suddenly. "I know you can e-mail experts sometimes if you go to a site and want more information."

"True…but there's no telling when they'd reply or if they'd have the answers we need," Jaden said, biting his lip. "This is bigger than us, Sy. We need more help. If this really _is_ a curse, then we're going to need some outside help, like your brother and Chazz and Alexis. I mean…we don't know what this curse could do, if it's for real."

"Or how many days I have left to live," Sy gulped, staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

Jaden pulled him into a comforting embrace. "I won't let you die, Sy. I promise."

Wiping away stray tears, Sy nodded. "You and Chumley could be in danger too, because you were there like I was. But…for some reason, I'm the only one getting the nightmares."

"Don't worry, we'll figure this out. It can't be any harder than saving the world from a dueling mad-man," Jaden cracked a smile. "Look, I'll send a message to all of them to meet by the hot springs after bed time tonight. We'll tell them all about it."

"What if they don't believe us?" Sy asked worriedly. "They didn't think the corpse was real the first time, remember?"

"We've got to try," Jaden urged. "We really need their help."

Sy remained silent, but he knew his boyfriend was right. It was bigger than what they could handle. His life and possibly Jaden and Chumley's as well were at stake.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	6. To A Different Realm

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**_Author's Note: Sorry about the delay! I had a bit of writer's block! But I'm back now so I'll be updating this hopefully on a regular basis. Thanks for being patient!_**

**Chapter 5: To A Different Realm**

Sy bit his lip hard in anticipation. It was only breakfast and already he was dreading that night. He hadn't slept well the previous night after finding out there was an Amun-Ra curse. And Jaden told him he sent a message to Zane, Alexis, Atticus, Chazz and Bastion about meeting by the hot springs that night. He prayed that his brother would believe him because he was frightened. Even though Jaden told him he'd protect him, he still felt like they needed help. Thankfully, he didn't have another nightmare but the marks on his neck were still there. Although it wasn't as black and blue, it was still noticeable. And Jaden pointed out he could even see a hand-print (though that wasn't something that he wanted to know).

"Hey Sy…you okay?" Jaden asked lightly as he seated himself beside his anxious-looking friend.

"Jaden, I don't know…," Sy trailed off. "If this curse is real we could all be in danger."

"I know," Jaden smiled sadly. "But we've survived worse."

"_You've_ survived worse. You and the others; I hardly did anything."

"Sy—" Jaden began.

"I was thinking," Sy interrupted quickly. "Do you remember when we first heard about the disappearances of the students?"

Jaden blinked in surprise then nodded. Sy continued: "Well, I remember someone saying that one student had been recovered; a student named Di who's a Slifer like us. Anyway, he's been in the nurse's office ever since, but somehow he escaped. Perhaps we could go visit him and see if he saw anything unusual down there."

"I'm not sure if the nurse will let us see him, since we're not his family."

"No, but we could say we're his friends," Sy added, giving him a pleading look. "I just want to know as much as I can about the curse. Obviously it all started because of that underground tomb. The others don't remember a thing, but Di might."

Jaden sighed and nodded. "We can try."

Sy smiled in thanks and the two walked to class together. Sy was a bit anxious throughout his other classes, but once lunch came he and Jaden made their way to the nurse's office.

"Excuse me, we're here to see Di. We're his friends," Sy said, giving her a sad look.

The nurse smiled sadly. "I understand, but Di's in pretty bad condition."

"That's why we're here to cheer him up!" Jaden exclaimed. "We brought him a surprise."

The nurse looked surprised and slowly she nodded. Sy felt his heart jump in excitement as she led them inside.

"Don't touch him or anything though," the nurse warned them.

"We won't, thank you," Jaden grinned. "Phew! That was close."

Sy immediately approached the bed and leaned down by Di's side. "Di? Can you hear me? It's Syrus Truesdale. I just…I wanted to ask you some questions about how you got this way."

The boy didn't answer. His eyes were shut and a pained expression was on his face. There were IVs hooked up to his arms and his heartbeat appeared steady. Sy glanced at Jaden who shrugged.

"Maybe he's in a coma," he suggested.

"They didn't say he was," Sy mused. "I don't know. Let me try again. Di? Can you hear me? Um, I was wondering if you knew about the tomb," he began, and Di still didn't move. "Jaden and I looked it up and we think that the sarcophagus down there had a person buried inside who suffered the Amun-Ra cu—"

The bed suddenly jerked as Di's eyes snapped open. He breathed raspy and grabbed Sy's wrist painfully. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and Sy struggled. Jaden immediately rushed over to help.

"Amun-Ra," he hissed. "You…," he breathed. "You…are…cursed."

"C-cursed?" Sy stuttered, glancing fearfully at Jaden who looked just as surprised.

"What do you mean? How is he cursed?" Jaden asked, bending closer to the boy.

Di breathed again, sucking in a raspy breath and pointed a shaky finger. "The key…he wants…the key. Otherwise…everything…will be destroyed…"

The boy slumped down back on the bed and Jaden pulled Sy's wrist out of his grasp. The smaller boy was staring down at the unconscious Slifer, wondering what he could possibly mean. Now he was certain he was in trouble. Tears began building up and Sy ran to the door with Jaden in toe. They came out and the nurse seemed to think Sy was upset because of his friend. She wished them a farewell and that Di would be taken good care of. Sy was too distraught to answer as he ran from the building to outside.

"Sy, wait up!" Jaden called, rushing to catch up with him. "Stop!"

Finally, Sy slumped down onto the grass and Jaden slowed down, approaching him.

"Sy…I know what he said sounded scary, but you're going to be fine."

Sniffling, the younger teen looked up. "Fine? Jaden, I'm cursed! If I stay around here, I'll only endanger everyone!"

"That's not true," Jaden said softly, placing a hand on Sy's shoulder. "Look, let's wait until we ask your brother what to do, okay?"

Trembling, Sy shook his head. "Zane won't believe me! And he won't care…"

"Yes he will! He may be a jerk at times, but he cares about you! Come on, let's go get some lunch. It might make you feel better."

Letting his boyfriend pull him, Sy wiped at his eyes and leaned up against him. Jaden wrapped an arm around him and kept it there as they headed toward the lunch room. Beyond the trees, the same figure as before was watching them. It vanished seconds later, leaving no trace.

Nighttime came and Sy felt even more anxious as they prepared to meet the others by the hot springs. What would he say? How would he explain it? It sounded crazy even to him. Jaden kept reassuring him, but he still had doubts. After dinner, Chumley decided he'd come with them and meet the others. The three walked silently toward the Hot Springs. The group were already waiting and once Sy saw his brother he almost turned and ran in the other direction.

"Is there a reason we're out this late?" Chazz glared.

"This better be important, Jaden," Zane spoke softly, eyeing both him and Sy.

"Look, I know you guys don't believe that any of this curse stuff is real," Jaden began. "But it is! And we might be in real trouble."

"Not this again," Chazz rolled his eyes.

Alexis glanced at Bastion and then back to them. "Jaden, what do you mean exactly? You mean that there's a real mummy out to get us?"

"Well…not in so many words, but rather there's this curse called the Amun-Ra curse. And Sy and I believe that whoever was in the sarcophagus had this done to him. Since we opened it, we must've unleashed his spirit and now…well, bad things are starting to happen," Jaden said, glancing at all of them.

Sy remained silent, staring at the ground.

"I can't believe I came out here for this," Chazz grumbled, making a move to leave.

"Wait, you don't believe me? Take a look at this!" Jaden exclaimed, grabbing Sy gently and pulling down his turtle neck to show the finger prints.

"Ouch," Alexis winced. "Who did that?"

"Sy was having a nightmare. He said it was with the mummy creature again and that in his dream it began strangling him. When he woke up, he had these marks on his neck."

"And you want us to believe it was caused by his nightmare?" Bastion asked, rubbing his chin. "Jaden…that's a little far-fetched."

"How else do you explain it? Sy didn't have the marks when he went to sleep!"

"It's probably another prank," Zane said, closing his eyes briefly. "It's just someone running around trying to scare you. There's no real mummy."

"So you can believe there's a Shadow Realm that sucks away your soul and Shadow Riders, but when it comes to this it's too much?" Jaden shot back angrily.

Zane blinked indifferently and Chazz just crossed his arms, leaning up against a tree trunk. Atticus was the only one who had remained quiet thus far.

"You know, it's not that much farther than what we dealt with the last time," Atticus said quietly. "I mean, after what happened to me…becoming a Shadow Rider and all, I believe anything is possible."

"Yeah, but…but a curse?" Alexis asked doubtfully. "Why would there be a random buried sarcophagus beneath the school? Why hasn't anyone found it before?"

"That's a good question," Bastion said, nodding.

"There's another thing," Sy spoke up softly and the others turned to look at him. "In my dream the…mummy or whatever said some things in Egyptian. And we went to look it up and we found information on the Amun-Ra curse. There wasn't much, but it's said to be one of the worst ways of dying in ancient Egypt. And then…Di, the Slifer who had disappeared and came back, he told me that I was cursed."

Chazz snorted. "That kid's messed up. You shouldn't believe anything he says."

"Sy," Zane said sternly, "you need to stop worrying about unrealistic things."

Sy bit his lip and looked down at the ground as his brother continued. "School is the most important thing right now and if you ever want to be a good duelist you'll concentrate more on that than fairy tales."

With that, Zane began walking away. Soon Chazz followed and the rest of them. Atticus gave them a smile as they passed and Bastion waved. Alexis hesitated before leaving, seeing the torn look on Sy's face and Jaden's own stern look.

"I know you both are serious," she said quietly. "It's just…it's too hard to believe."

She gave them a reluctant smile and walked away.

"Can we go back now and get something to eat?" Chumley spoke up.

Sy sniffled and slumped down onto a rock. Jaden stared at him for a minute and then glanced at Chumley.

"You go on ahead, Chum. We're going to stay here for a little longer."

Once the larger boy left, Jaden sat down next to him and wrapped a comforting arm around him. Sy buried his head against Jaden's chest and began to cry softly. Jaden remained quiet, rubbing his back and trying to find a way to comfort him. After a few minutes, Sy slowly raised his head.

"There's nothing we can do, Jaden," he said shakily. "I don't know what will happen, but…there's nothing we can do."

"Maybe nothing bad will happen. Maybe the spirit will disappear and move on or something," Jaden said hopefully.

"I doubt it," Sy sighed. "I just wish I understood what Di meant. He said something about a key, but we didn't find any key down there. Or maybe there was a key but it was lost a long time ago."

Jaden sighed heavily and leaned down to kiss the side of Sy's head. "If anything else happens we'll deal with it together."

Sy nodded reluctantly and stared at the water, wishing that he had never gone into the underground place.

"I still haven't told Zane," Sy said quietly, sighing heavily. "It's just so much harder than I thought it'd be."

"It's alright. If you don't tell him by tomorrow I can just kiss you in front of him," Jaden winked.

Sy's lips curled into a small smile. "Yeah, I wonder how he'd react."

"Not good, I imagine," Jaden laughed. "Come on, let's get to bed."

The taller teen helped him up and the two were about to start heading back when a sound echoed around them. Sy clung to Jaden immediately. There was a hissing sound and the two spun around everywhere looking for the source.

"Chazz, if this is your idea of a joke it's not funny!" Jaden exclaimed, holding onto Sy tightly.

Sy was trembling and looking all around. He had a feeling that it wasn't a joke—it was the curse.

A low growl emitted from somewhere nearby and slowly something approached from the shadows. Sy let out a screech as the same sunken eyes and fleshless body came into view. Its eyes were alight with a yellow glow and as the bony mummy approached, Jaden forced Sy farther away and got in front of him.

"Don't you dare come anywhere near him!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Jaden don't!" Sy shouted.

The mummy stopped and lifted its fingers toward them. Sy let out a scream and Jaden wheeled around to see that he was levitating in the air. Immediately, Jaden jumped up and grabbed him, trying to yank him back down to the ground. The mummy came closer and Jaden did the first thing that came to mind. He picked up a rock and threw it at him. It hit his bony arm causing a loud crack to sound as the bone broke. The mummy hissed loudly, but Sy fell from the air into Jaden's arms. The two scrambled to their feet and ran as fast as they could away.

The mummy's loud cry echoed behind them but Sy didn't even turn to look. They ran toward the Obelisk blue dorms and Jaden began banging on the door. When it opened, Zane peered out at them with a stern, unhappy expression.

"What do you two want?"

"Someone's chasing us!" Sy exclaimed. "Zane you have to believe me about the curse! We saw the mummy again!"

"Sy," Zane's eyes narrowed, "you both need to go back to your dorm."

The door was shut on them and Sy felt like crying all over again. Before he could, however, the ground beneath them trembled violently. Sy screamed and fell over.

"Sy!" Jaden shouted, reaching out to grab him.

The two struggled to stay on their feet as the ground began to quiver constantly. Loud girlish screams echoed nearby and Sy knew instantly it was coming from the girls' Obelisk dorm.

"ZANE!"

Jaden and Sy looked toward the sound and saw Alexis running in her night gown. As she approached, out-of-breath Jaden went to her.

"Alexis, are you alright?" he asked.

The ground shook again and she clung to him, nodding quickly. "I am, but the other girls they're freaked out! I told them I'd run and get the principal!"

"It's too late! We have to find somewhere safe to stay!" Jaden exclaimed.

Sy was standing nearby the door and screamed when it burst open.

"Atticus!" Alexis shouted, running to him. "There's an earthquake!"

"I know, I can feel it! Come on, I know where there's a safe place," Atticus said.

"Wait, what about Zane and Chazz?" Jaden asked.

"They're coming. Chazz was in the shower and Zane's helping to get all the others out safely. Come on!"

Sy was dragged by Jaden who followed Atticus and Alexis as they ran as fast as they could. The ground still trembled beneath them and soon they were passing by the other dorms. They saw Bastion run out of his dorm and immediately they called him over.

"What is going on?" Bastion shouted as they ran. "Since when do we get earthquakes?"

"I don't know! Come on, the safety tunnel is just up here!" Atticus shouted, pointing.

"A tunnel! Isn't it unsafe to be underground?" Jaden shouted back.

"No! This tunnel's unique! It's surrounded completely by steel walls so it should be safe! This way!"

They came to a bunch of bushes nearby the dorms. Upon pushing the leaves aside, there was a small hole that they could slip into. Alexis went in first followed by Sy then Jaden and the others. It was dark and cold, smelling of dirt and rotting leaves but it felt safer. Already the tremors were less severe.

"Ouch!" Jaden exclaimed. "Bastion, that was my arm!"

"Sorry, I can't see anything," the older teen said.

"Can someone please turn on a light?" Alexis begged.

Sy was huddled in a corner, gripping tightly onto Jaden's arm hoping that his brother would be alright. A few minutes later they heard more footsteps and familiar voices.

"Where is it Zane? I think you're completely nuuuuuuuuuuuuutssss!" Chazz exclaimed as he suddenly fell into the hole, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

Zane calmly descended the stairs and glanced down at him. "I told you it was here."

Chazz grumbled as he brushed himself off. Atticus took out a lighter and lit it.

"Can someone get some sticks or something?"

Sy felt around in the dirt for some twigs and leaves to help build a small fire. Once they had accumulated a small amount, Atticus lit it. The small underground chamber was hardly big enough for all of them but it definitely had steel walls.

"What is this place?" Jaden asked.

"It was originally built by some Obelisk students to have a place to store alcohol and other things not allowed at the academy," Atticus said. "But it turns out that this little place is for safety too."

"Yeah, but what about all the other students?" Alexis asked, worrying about her friends.

"The principal will help them all to safety," Zane retorted quietly, leaning up against the wall. He crossed his arms calmly. "That's his job after all."

"Oh man," Jaden breathed, slumping against the wall. "Why did this have to happen now?"

"It's the curse," Sy said softly. "I know it is."

"There is no curse!" Chazz exclaimed angrily, pointing a finger at the smaller boy. "You're just too gullible!"

"We did see the mummy again," Jaden shot back. "I mean, we've never before gotten earthquakes. And suddenly one comes out of no where."

"Please," Chazz snorted. "If there was a curse there'd be more things happening."

"Listen, I think it's stopped," Bastion said suddenly.

They all remained quietly listening for any more tremors. It seemed to be clear, but Sy was suddenly fearful of going back up there. What if the mummy was waiting?

"I'll go check it out," Atticus said, moving carefully past the small fire.

He climbed the stairs and they all heard leaves rustling as he pushed them away. Alexis walked toward the ladder and glanced up toward the hole where her brother disappeared.

"Atticus, is everything clear?"

"Uh…you guys might want to come up here," his voice sounded from above.

Alexis immediately began climbing and Chazz followed right behind her. Bastion went up next then Zane and then Jaden and Syrus. They all climbed up through the hole and pushed through the bushes. As Sy remained close to Jaden, he soon was standing outside of the bushes looking out across the landscape.

"What the hell!" Chazz exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

Sy felt his throat constrict as he saw that their whole school was no longer there. None of the dorms, or the forest, or Hot Springs…nothing. In its place, however, was all sand. The whole area was covered in hot sand and there were a few trees here and there, but everything was just dessert.

"We are definitely not in Japan," Jaden breathed, glancing at Sy who looked just as concerned. "Now do you all believe us?"

All eyes glanced down at him except for Zane who was still staring out into the open space with an unreadable expression.

"We're all dreaming," Chazz said suddenly. "We're all dreaming this and very soon we'll wake up and laugh about it."

"We can't possibly be dreaming!" Jaden exclaimed. "It wasn't even bed time!"

"This better be a dream," Alexis said, looking worried. "Because if it isn't, how are we going to get back?"

"The question I'd like to know is: where are we?" Jaden asked.

Sy gulped, clutching Jaden's arm desperately. "Is this part of the curse?"

"Maybe," Jaden answered. "We won't know until we have a look around."

"This is insane!" Chazz exclaimed. "I'm going back!"

He turned around and gave a surprised shout. Behind them was all sand and dessert now—the bushes had all vanished. Sy let out a soft whimper and Jaden wrapped an arm around him.

"Zane?" Alexis questioned. "What do we do?"

Zane's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure. This could just be an illusion."

"Created by whom?" Bastion asked.

"The mummy?" Chazz snorted. "Look, I'll prove this is a dream. Watch!"

Chazz walked out onto the dessert and touched the sand. "If this is a dream, we can make anything happen. Like making a bottle of water appe—AHHH!"

The ground beneath Chazz's feet suddenly vanished and he disappeared into the sand.

"Chazz!" Alexis screamed.

She took a step forward and the ground vanished beneath her as well.

"Alexis!" Zane exclaimed, reaching out to grab her hand.

The ground disappeared beneath him as well and they were gone. Sy screamed and clutched onto Jaden even tighter. Atticus stepped backward and suddenly shouted as he fell as well.

"What's going on?" Bastion shouted.

In the next second, Bastion dropped into a hole and vanished as well. Sy was now crying and gripping onto Jaden for dear life. The ground beneath the two of them suddenly vanished and Sy felt his self falling into darkness. He still felt Jaden's arms around him and clung to him desperately. Shutting his eyes, Sy buried his face in the crook of Jaden's neck waiting for the end. Moments later the two fell onto sand and Jaden helped him up.

"Where are we now?" he wondered.

A short distance in front of them was a stone street leading toward a village. There were old houses and pillars lined up along the entrance. The pillars all had Egyptian markings on them. In the distance, somewhere in the city, he saw the top of what looked like a large palace, though from that distance Sy couldn't be sure.

"Jaden, I'm scared. Where did the others go?" he whispered fearfully.

"I don't know, Sy, but we're going to find out," his boyfriend said firmly, taking his hand. "Come on."

Reluctantly, Sy let Jaden lead him toward the unknown village. He hoped that wherever his brother and the others went that they were safe. Being so afraid of what would happen, Sy didn't even notice the ring on his finger was illuminating a glow once again.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

To Reviewers: 

**Lorna Shadows: **Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far. Sorry it took a little while to update! I'll try updating faster.

**Angel Spirit: **Aww, thanks! I'm so glad I'm not leaving terrible cliffhangers, well…I suppose this one was a bad one. I'll try updating faster! I know, Sy still hasn't told his brother but don't worry it'll come at the right time. :-)

**Coco Gash Niccals: **Lol! I don't want to ruin the story for you, but I'm not just going to kill people! It's not an angsty story at all.

**Just someone: **Thank you! Sorry it took so long to update! I'll try and update sooner this time! Oh yes, the person watching Jaden and Syrus? You'll find out who it is soon enough!

**DarkElixier66: **Lol! Yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger and the wait on this chapter. I'll update faster this time!

**Marufuji Ayako: **Hehehe, yeah I'm trying to decide who else to hook up. This is mainly surrounding Jaden and Sy though, so if there is going to be another couple it'll be mild. Do you mean hooking up Chazz and Zane? That would be interesting! Lol! I think the way I portray Zane in this is not really gay. So, sorry if that's what you wanted. I might, however, pair up Zane with Alexis or something. We'll see.

**Ronin 32: **Lol! Suspensfulness works for me:-) Sorry it's taking me forever to update! I'll update faster! Oh and I can't wait for you to update your story either!

**Senachan141: **Thank you! Sorry about the delay! I had a bit of writer's block, but I'm back! I will update asap!

**Candle on the Water: **Lol! Well, you kind of see where it's going, right? Thanks for the review! I'll update asap!

**Kagomegirl92: **Awww, thanks so much! Yeah, I like Jaden and Sy together too! That's why the story really surrounds them. And I'll update faster, promise!


	7. Premonition

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 6**: **Premonition**

Sy gripped onto his boyfriend's hand tightly as they descended the steep slope toward the village. There were pillars all around the outskirts of the area that loomed over them. There were people walking around and speaking in a different tongue and they didn't appear to have noticed them.

"Jaden, where are we?" Sy asked fearfully, pushing closer to him.

The taller boy just shook his head. "I'm not sure, Sy. I wonder where the others went…"

Sy looked around curiously and saw that there were booths with gold and other items being sold. Everything looked so real and felt real…but how was it possible? He hoped that his brother was alright.

At that moment, the people around them started shouting and gesturing to an area ahead. Then everyone started running quickly.

"Come on, let's follow them!" Jaden exclaimed, pulling Sy harshly.

The smaller boy was dragged along behind him as they ran. Following the villagers, they came to the tall palace structure which was in the center of the village. Immediately, the palace gates opened and a tall, slim young man stepped out. He was dressed in purple satin robes that flowed around his body and dragged on the ground. He had gold and jewels around his neck and even a crown on his head. Sy had no doubt that this person was special.

"Pharaoh!" the people suddenly exclaimed, bowing deeply.

Sy blinked in confusion. He could suddenly understand them. Or were they suddenly speaking English? He wasn't sure, but either way he stepped up cautiously beside Jaden. The pharaoh raised his arms high and the people kept their heads bowed.

"My people!" the pharaoh bellowed. "Today is a day which everyone will remember. A traitor is amongst us!"

Gasps rang out all around them and Sy glanced around nervously. He wasn't sure what was going on but he had a feeling it wasn't good.

"A man—a fellow brother of us has desecrated my father's tomb and has stolen a sacred amulet!" the pharaoh spoke angrily. "This amulet is what protects the line of the pharaohs! Without it, we will parish! Fear not, though for this man has been caught!"

Sy gasped loudly as what appeared to be a man in tattered robes, with many cuts and bruises and a cloth over his head came in view. He was being dragged by several bulky men who were dressed similarly to the pharaoh. Instinctively, Sy clenched his boyfriend's hand tighter.

"For disturbing a former pharaoh's tomb and trying to steal a valuable item he will be punished with the worst of deaths—the Amun-Ra!"

Cheers and yells rang out throughout the crowd and Sy felt his whole chest tighten. He couldn't tear his eyes away no matter how desperately he wanted to. The man was pulled forward roughly and placed in front of the pharaoh. Sy wanted to look away—he wanted it all to stop. He tried to tug his boyfriend away but Jaden wouldn't budge; his eyes were fixed on the scene before him, as if hypnotized.

"Jaden! Jaden!" Sy exclaimed, tugging on him again.

"Now he will be punished for all eternity!" the pharaoh shouted.

The man was pinned down with ropes as the pharaoh hovered above him. The guards handed him jugs of black goop and Sy watched with terror-filled eyes as the black gunk was poured over the man's nearly bare body. The man screeched in pain and Sy realized it was hot tar being poured on him. He shook his head, stepping backward.

_Make it stop! I don't want to see this!_

His mind was screaming and his eyes were filling with tears. The man screamed even louder in agony as the tar was being peeled off of him roughly, along with slabs of his flesh. The villagers were cheering and Sy's eyes leaked with tears. The pharaoh was kicking him all the while, adding even more pain. Suddenly, one of the guards tore the last of his clothing off. His nether regions were still in tact, but one of the guards grabbed him between the legs and pulled out a dagger.

"STOP!" Syrus screeched loudly as even more tears fell.

Sy closed his eyes tightly hearing the man's throaty howl and screams as he was castrated. He couldn't bear to open his eyes…he wouldn't! The voices had all suddenly stopped. Sy shakily removed his hands from his face and gasped at what he saw. The man, who was bleeding profusely with flesh hanging off his bones and globs of tar still attached to him, lay still. The pharaoh and the others were staring down at him wordlessly, as if suddenly frozen. An arm moved and Sy's eyes widened in disbelief. The man was still alive?

Suddenly, his bony fingers moved and he slowly began to drag his body forward. Syrus was trembling violently as he dragged himself down the stairs and past some of the villagers. Sy was completely paralyzed as the figure crawled in his direction. He stepped back and quickly reached out for Jaden's hand and suddenly only felt air. Turning his head in shock, he saw that Jaden had completely vanished.

"No," Sy whispered, backing away as the tortured man came closer. "No, stop! Please!"

His body wracked with sobs and he stumbled backward, trying to get away from the bleeding man. Just then the man stopped moving and between the cracking of his bones he began to stand. Sy was rigid with fear but there was no where else for him to run. The man's fingers suddenly stretched out for him and Sy screamed. The hand lashed out and grabbed his arm painfully. It pulled him forward and Sy let out another fearful scream as he lost balance and was dragged across the ground.

The man suddenly began shaking his arm with such force he thought his wrist would break.

"STOP IT!" Sy sobbed. "Jaden!"

"The key…," a cold voice suddenly hissed.

Sy's eyes widened as he glanced up at the man whose head was still covered by the bag.

"Give…me…," he hissed.

"I don't have it!" Sy screamed. "Jaden! Where are you?"

The man suddenly laughed a throaty, unusual laugh. He raised a bony, bloody arm and Sy's eyes caught sight of six figures hanging from tall wooden sticks. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes when he saw that it was his friends: Jaden, Chazz, Bastion, Alexis, Atticus and Zane…they were all tied to separate wooden pillars. The villagers were suddenly alive with movement and they all surrounded them.

Moments later, still being gripped tightly, Sy realized what they were doing. The wooden pillars were being set on fire.

"NO! STOP! DON'T HURT THEM!" Sy screamed.

The man suddenly lifted him into the air by his arm and Sy screeched and struggled, trying to get away from him. Slowly, the man's other bony hand reached up to grab the bag over his head. As it was torn off, Sy screamed at the bloody eye sockets and flesh-torn face, swollen with bruises and gashes so deep he could see the bone beneath.

"You…are…mine," the man's bloody mouth hissed.

His wrist was twisted and Sy let out a painful scream. The bony fingers grabbed his finger just above where the ring was situated and leaned down toward him. The pillars were already completely on fire and he heard the screams of each of the ones he cared about. Sy screamed with all of his might and kicked hard, shaking his head back and forth in fear and anguish.

"SY! SYRUS!"

Gasping for air, Sy jumped up glancing around with wide, frightened eyes. Jaden was staring at him fearfully as well as Chumley. The light was on and the two were knelt down by his bed.

"It can't…," Sy shook his head. "The earthquake!"

"What earthquake?" Chumley asked, blinking sleepily.

"Sy, you had another nightmare," Jaden said, smoothing his hair back.

Shaking his head, Sy shakily grabbed his boyfriend's hand. "No! It was real…I know it was! It felt more real than last time! It had…it had to be real! We met up with Zane and others…to tell them about the curse…and they…they didn't believe us and…"

"Sy, we didn't meet up with them," Jaden said softly, sitting next to him. "It was all just a bad dream. I know it's probably because of that information we read about the curse, right?"

"Jaden it's true! I saw everything! I saw the Amun-Ra ritual!" Sy exclaimed shakily. "I saw everything…it was horrible!"

He suddenly couldn't speak any more as he burst into tears. Jaden wrapped his arms around him and held onto him tightly. Soothingly, he rubbed circles on his back trying to get him calmed down.

"Would you like me to sleep with you?" Jaden asked softly, brushing his bangs back.

Sy wordlessly nodded his head and continued to sob. Jaden slipped into bed next to him and wrapped his arms securely around the smaller boy's waist. Sy buried his face against his chest and continued to cry until he fell asleep.

When he woke up a few hours later, he was still upset about the nightmare but he had stopped crying. It had felt so much more real than any of the other ones—it was starting to scare him a lot.

"J…," Sy whispered shakily as they made their way to breakfast.

"Yeah Sy?" Jaden asked, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

"Are we still going to talk to everyone about the curse?"

Blinking, Jaden nodded. "If you still want to. We could at least see what they say. Or maybe, Sy, you could just talk to Zane. I mean, I doubt Chazz would want to have anything to do with it, but I'm sure your brother would help."

Biting his lip as he remembered what happened in the nightmare, Sy took in a shaky breath.

"I don't know if he'll believe me."

"Well, if he doesn't you and I can do some more research," Jaden smiled softly. "Alright? And we'll even try to contact an Egyptian expert, if that'll make you feel better."

Wiping at his eyes, Sy looked up at him and smiled shakily. "Thanks, J. You're the best."

Holding him tight, Jaden kissed him briefly on the lips. Neither one of them saw Chazz's mouth drop open as they passed by him without notice. Chazz was so shocked he smashed right into a wall and fell over. Students passing by glanced down at him, blinked and then continued on their way. Jaden and Sy were still off in their own world, oblivious to what had happened.

After breakfast, Sy was feeling a bit better. Part of him wondered if the nightmare was what actually had happened. The other part of him didn't want to know. All Sy was sure of was that he didn't want to go to sleep…ever again. The nightmares were coming every night now and seemed more realistic each time. Jaden promised to sleep with him every night if he wanted, but Sy wasn't sure that would help stop the nightmares. Still, he had to sleep some time. There was no way he could get up for classes, which started again in a few days, if he didn't get sleep. The break was ending and Sy didn't feel refreshed at all.

By the time dinner came around, Sy was so scared he was trembling again. He could hardly even keep his food down. Jaden tried to comfort him by telling him that he'd stay up all night with him if he had to. The two lay together and talked for a while until Sy began feeling drowsy. Eventually, the two fell asleep. It wasn't long until Sy opened his eyes. He could hardly see in the dark but he could tell he was facing the wall. Soft breathing came from behind him and he touched Jaden with his foot, making sure he was still there. Sighing with relief, Sy tried closing his eyes again.

A cold draft made him shiver and he pulled the blankets up higher. Seconds later the blankets were pulled back down away from his shoulders. Sy's eyebrows furrowed even as he kept his eyes shut. Jaden was obviously hogging the blankets. He tried pulling them up again but they appeared to be stuck. A cold wind ghosted over his bare shoulder and Sy suddenly froze. Jaden's soft breathing was still behind him but there was something else…another raspy sound was echoing softly in the room. And it was definitely coming from somewhere nearby.

Goosebumps trailed along his whole body as fear consumed him. His heart began pounding so loudly in his chest he thought it'd burst through. He couldn't open his eyes; there was no way he was going to. No, it was just his imagination. He would just fall back asleep and morning would come faster.

Something cold brushed against his shoulder and Sy's heart skipped a beat. He was so scared now. He knew he wasn't asleep—that much he was certain of. And it sounded like someone else was in the room. He needed to wake up Jaden. Keeping his eyes shut, Sy began rolling over in order to face his boyfriend. Something cold suddenly covered his entire face and Sy tried to let out a scream that was muffled. He struggled violently as his wind pipe was suddenly closed up. Something very strong was pinning him down so that he couldn't move. He wanted to shout to Jaden, wanted to kick him and wake him up but he couldn't move or breathe.

Tears prickled in his eyes and fell even as he struggled for air. Syrus knew his air was almost gone and soon he would be dead. He wanted desperately to tell Jaden how much he loved him. Sy managed to get one of his hands loose. His fingers suddenly felt incredibly warm and before he knew it his wind pipe had been released. Sy gagged and sputtered for air as his vision was restored at well. The dark looming figure over him let out an inhuman cry as light erupted in its face. Jaden was suddenly forced awake, nearly falling out of bed at the sound.

Jaden saw the hideous corpse twitching and opening its wide, rotting mouth as if it were screaming. Immediately, he grabbed Sy and pulled him to his chest to keep him safe. Sy was coughing and gasping for air. The corpse suddenly vanished in front of them as the light continued to shine. Sy gasped, blinking a few times as he struggled to even out his breathing. His eyes were hooked to the ring on his finger—it was illuminating the bright light which had scared the corpse off.

"Sy! Are you alright?" Jaden asked desperately, searching his fast.

Sy coughed roughly again and shook his head. "J-Jaden, it almost killed me!" he sobbed. "I couldn't breathe! It…it was choking me!"

"Shh, calm down, it's okay," Jaden soothed, embracing him. "I'm here now. I won't let it hurt you."

Sy choked on more sobs and began another fit of coughing even as his shoulders shook from terror. He had never been so scared in his life. Chumley was still sound asleep, amazingly and only turned over once. Jaden continued to keep Sy close to him until he had settled down a bit.

"Sy, let me see that ring," Jaden said.

Shakily, the blue-haired boy held out his hand to him and Jaden stared at it. "How did this thing glow so brightly? It doesn't look like there's a flashlight in it or anything."

Suddenly, Sy's eyes widened. "Jaden…do you think _this_ is the key?"

Jaden tilted his head. "I'm not sure, Sy. It could be. But what's it a key to?"

"I don't know, but I'm never going back to sleep again!" he said, as tears began to fall once more. "I thought I was going to die and…and that I'd never see you again!"

"I told you I won't let you die," Jaden said firmly. "Listen to me, I'm sorry I fell asleep. We'll find a way to stop it before it does this again, okay? Tomorrow we'll contact an expert and we can also talk to Zane."

"What if he doesn't believe us?"

"He will with these marks on your neck, Sy. Besides, even though it's far-fetched your brother, along with the rest of the gang, has seen more than their fair share of weird things."

Sniffling, Sy nodded and immediately cuddled close to him. "Don't fall back asleep, J…please."

"I won't," Jaden said softly, smoothing his hair out. "I'll protect you."

Sy lifted his head and stared at him with wide, teary eyes. Jaden pushed away his bangs and leaned down to kiss him. He was meaning it to be soft and sweet, but Sy wrapped his arms around the other boy. Slowly, the smaller boy slipped his tongue between his boyfriend's lips. Jaden let out a soft noise and soon joined him in a passionate kiss. Sy pushed his self closer, wanting to feel even more warmth that was radiating from Jaden's body. Soon, the two broke away for air and Sy leaned his head against Jaden's neck.

"I love you, J," Sy said quietly. "I want you to know that."

Smiling softly, Jaden kissed his forehead. "Thanks, Sy. I love you too. Hey, why don't we play a game of Duel Monsters to keep us up?"

Nodding, Sy reluctantly slipped out of their embrace. "Can we keep the light on?"

"Definitely," Jaden answered, retrieving his dueling deck.

"Jaden…um…tomorrow I want to tell Zane about us, for sure," Sy said softly.

Jaden looked up from where he was setting up his cards. "Alright. You don't have to yet if you don't want to."

"It's just…I realized tonight how quickly one can…well, that I could die at any time," Sy bit his lip to keep from crying. "I want to tell him tomorrow and not wait any long just in case this curse kills me."

"Sy, I won't let that happen. And neither will Zane," Jaden promised firmly. "We'll figure this out."

"I know, but just in case…I want to. It'll make me feel better."

Staring at him silently, Jaden nodded and offered him a small smile. "Well, let me know what his expression is."

"I want you to come with me when I tell him," Sy said.

Jaden looked at him in surprise. "You do?"

Sy nodded. "Yes."

"Alright," Jaden said, nodding. "Here, why don't you go first."

Wiping at the dried up tears, Sy nodded and slowly began the game. From time to time, he glanced at the window frightened that the corpse would come back. Thankfully, it didn't. Sy wasn't only glad for that but also for the fact that he hadn't died. He realized just how much he needed to tell his brother and it hadn't been impertinent until after the incident. Jaden promised to protect him and Sy knew he would, but he still didn't want to wait any longer to tell his brother.

Morning came and although Sy was tired he was happy to see the bright rays shining through their window. If he didn't need therapy afterwards, he'd be very fortunate. He ate very little for breakfast but Jaden at least forced him to eat an egg and a small piece of toast. Sy wanted to tell Zane right after breakfast so when they were done eating the two headed toward the Obelisk dorms.

Sy was so nervous he didn't let go of Jaden's hand the whole way there. As they approached the doors, Sy was reminded of his nightmare which had started out somewhat the same. He hoped that an earthquake didn't come soon. Jaden knocked on the door and seconds later an Obelisk blue student answered.

"What do you two want?"

"I want to see my brother!" Sy exclaimed.

The boy blinked and crossed his arms. "Who's your brother?"

"Zane is!" Sy said.

The boy looked surprised but shrugged. "He's still finishing breakfast."

"Let us in it's an emergency!" Jaden exclaimed.

The boy rolled his eyes and let them in. The two entered and immediately headed toward the kitchen. There, both Zane, another boy and Chazz were eating.

"Oh no, it's you two," Chazz drawled.

Zane looked up at them indifferently. "What are you two doing here?"

"Zane, this is important! There's something I have to tell you!" Sy exclaimed, pulling Jaden with him.

Chazz suddenly smirked and glanced at Zane. "This will be good, I promise you."

Jaden sent the older boy a quizzical look but Chazz just leaned back in his seat. Zane stared at them, waiting and Sy took a deep breath.

"JadeanIardating!" he said all at once.

Chazz raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Speak English."

"Zane, Jaden is…well, he's my boyfriend."

The words rang out and Chazz glanced over at Zane who was still staring at the both of them. Sy didn't even wait long before he continued.

"Look, I know Jaden isn't your favorite person…and…well, you might be ashamed that I like another boy, but I needed you to know this since…since, I…," Sy trailed off, biting his lip.

The other boy sitting at the table decided it was best if he left. Chazz stayed to enjoy the show. Zane closed his eyes briefly and stood up.

"Why should I care? What you do with your life is your business," Zane replied casually.

Immediately, tears began to leak from Sy's eyes. "How could you say you don't care!" Sy shouted, startling even Chazz who was trying to take a sip of water. "I almost died last night because the mummy tried to kill me and that's all you have to say! I bet you wouldn't even miss me!"

"Sy, calm down!" Jaden exclaimed, embracing the smaller boy.

"The mummy?" Chazz raised an eyebrow. "Not this again."

Zane stared down at them and crossed his arms. "I don't know what movies you've been watching, Sy but it's all in your head."

"Zane, he's telling the truth!" Jaden exclaimed angrily. "Look at his neck."

Sy, who was crying onto Jaden's shoulder, was gently pulled away as Jaden tried to show them. Zane stepped forward and grabbed his brother's chin gently, lifting up his neck. Dark bruises and finger prints were left on his neck.

"Who did this?" Zane asked, standing back up.

"I told you, the mummy!" Sy shouted. "It tried to kill me!"

"I saw it too, Zane," Jaden said, grasping Sy's hand. "It was in the room last night while we were sleeping. Sy woke up from having another nightmare about the mummy and it came."

"How do you two know you weren't dreaming?" Chazz asked, propping his elbow on the table.

"Because it was _real_, Chazz! And I saw the marks on his neck! We stayed up the rest of the night afraid it would come back!" Jaden exclaimed, glancing at Zane. "Please, Zane you have to believe us!"

Sy began sobbing again and Jaden tried to comfort him. Zane closed his eyes briefly again.

"I don't know what you two saw, but it wasn't a mummy," Zane spoke quietly. "It was probably the same person who was at the Hot Springs."

"The mummy _is_ real! It's trying to kill me!" Sy sobbed, grasping the front of Jaden's shirt.

Jaden hugged him and glanced up at Zane. "Look, Zane. I know it's hard to believe. Let us stay here tonight and you'll see! If it tries to come back again, you both will be here to see it."

"What? You both stay _here_?" Chazz asked, wide-eyed.

Zane stared at him silently and Jaden gave him a pleading look. "Please, Zane. Just this one favor. This way you'll see if it's our imagination or not."

The older teen glanced down at Sy who still had his face buried against Jaden's shoulder. Then he uncrossed his arms.

"Fine. You both can stay for one night."

Jaden looked relieved. "Thank you, Zane."

The older teen just glanced at them both and left the room. Chazz stood up moments later and approached them.

"You two better not use any hot water up while you're here," he said.

"We won't," Jaden said quietly, still holding onto Sy.

Chazz stared at them silently and finally he made his way to leave, bending his arms behind his head.

"And don't eat the chocolate ice cream."

Jaden rubbed Sy's back and looked at him as he pulled away.

"See Sy? We can stay here tonight with your brother. You'll be safe."

Sy sniffled and nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Jaden."

Squeezing his hand softly, Jaden smiled. "Hey, let's go see how Chum's doing and then we'll go see if any practice duels are going on, alright?"

Nodding, Sy clasped their hands together as they walked out of the Obelisk dorm room. Sy leaned up against Jaden's side, thankful that he had finally told his brother even though it wasn't the reaction he was hoping for. And at least for that night they'd be safe. He just hoped that the corpse wouldn't show its face again.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

**Author's Note:**** Don't worry, this will NOT be an angsty story! There's a little bit of horror/suspense but the humor/romance/action will be coming up very shortly! I'll try and update faster like this!**

To Reviewers: 

**Lady Lotus Flower:** Yeah, I'm so sorry the last chapter moved quickly. It was a dream sequence so I wanted it to seem a little fake, but maybe I made it too fake. Lol! Hopefully this chapter was back to normal. :-)

**Just Someone: **Hehe…yeah, I definitely updated faster this time, huh:-) That makes me feel better though, about what you said about other people taking years. I try not to make people wait more than a couple months…but it does happen. I'm glad you're thinking ahead! I can't answer a couple of those questions, but you're on the right track!

**Coco Gash Niccals: **Yeah, sorry about the long delay for the last chapter. I definitely updated a lot sooner this time around. Thanks so much! I'm so glad you're still enjoying it.

**Ac-the-brain-supreme: **Hehe, yeah, sorry about making you wait long for the last chapter. I hope to update this real soon!

**Lorna Shadows: **Lol! Oh yes, Chazz will eat his words. Tehehe!


	8. The Curse Released

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 7: The Curse Released**

Sy nervously bit his nails as he sat in the dining room of the Obelisk blue dorm. It was already getting dark outside and he was getting scared. Jaden was next to him, eating to his heart's content, while Chazz was watching him from the other end of the table with disgust. The older boy was eating a pint of chocolate ice cream, obviously trying to make them jealous with it. Zane was in his room studying and Sy desperately wanted to go to his brother, but he didn't want to make him mad.

"You okay, Sy?" Jaden asked, setting down his fork.

The younger boy shrugged uncertainly. "I just wish we had never gone in that chamber."

Jaden's eyes dimmed and he put an arm around Sy's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sy. It's all my fault. I suggested that we do it; I thought it would be fun, but…I wasn't thinking."

"Aw, how adorable," Chazz drawled sarcastically. "But I think I'm going to be sick, so I think I'll leave now."

Jaden sent him a glare but Chazz just raised an eyebrow and left. Sy sighed heavily and leaned his head on Jaden's shoulder.

"If only we could figure out how to end this curse. Then things could go back to normal and we could have fun instead of staying up all the time and worrying about the mummy coming back."

"Don't worry. Once Zane and Chazz see it I'm sure they'll know what to do," Jaden tried to reassure him. "Let me see that ring."

Sy held up his hand and Jaden examined it. "Hmm. Well, it seems like an ordinary ring, but maybe it belongs to the corpse. Maybe it just wants it back."

"I guess…but what if it doesn't want it? What if all it wants is to…to _kill_ me?" Sy shuddered.

Jaden's eyebrows furrowed and he pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Sy, nothing's going to happen to you. I won't let it, okay?"

"Yeah," Sy sighed, snuggling closer to him. "I wonder if this gold coin I found means something too."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about it. Do you have it?"

Sy nodded and reached into his pocket to retrieve it and handed it to Jaden. "I thought maybe the ring was the corpse's because it was in the sarcophagus, but the coin wasn't. But maybe the coin wasn't meant to be removed, you know? Maybe the coin had a curse placed on it."

Shrugging, Jaden just embraced him tightly. "I'm not sure of anything, Sy. I really wish this was just a stupid prank like Zane and Chazz believe, but we both know it's not. Look, tonight we'll stay together in one of the spare bedrooms and if either of us sees it we'll call for help, okay? Zane and Chazz will be right here with us."

Taking in a deep breath, Sy nodded and reluctantly pulled away. "It's getting dark now."

"It's okay," Jaden said, giving him a small smile.

Sy opened his mouth, but shut it when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Zane appeared at the doorway from the stairs, looking expressionless as always.

"The bedrooms are made."

"Oh, uh, Sy and I are going to sleep in the same room," Jaden said.

Chazz appeared near the kitchen doorway and raised an eyebrow, smirking in amusement.

"Uh, he's too afraid to sleep alone," Jaden added, scratching his head nervously.

Zane's eyes narrowed a bit, but he turned around, facing the stairs. "Fine. Let's go."

"Uh, now? It's only nine," Jaden said.

"I have an important duel tomorrow. I'm getting ready for bed now so if you're going to stay up later you better be quiet," Zane said firmly.

Then he walked up the rest of the stairs. Chazz came into the room and headed for the stairs as well.

"Yeah, you two better not be up late and making _any_ noises, which includes no rocking of the bed," Chazz smirked.

"Wha-?" Sy squeaked, his whole face turning crimson.

Jaden's cheeks turned red as well and Chazz eyed them in amusement before walking up the stairs.

"Uh…maybe we should get ready for bed too," Jaden said, laughing awkwardly.

Sy, still blushing, nodded and followed him up the stairs. The two of them chose one of the bedrooms (the one shortly diagonal from Zane's and next to Chazz's room) and began getting dressed for bed. Once they were changed, the two of them got into the larger bed and Sy instantly snuggled up against Jaden's side. The other boy put his arms around him and Sy sighed contently. He soon fell asleep.

Sometime later, Sy awoke blinking blearily as he rubbed his eyes. It was still night time. Nervously, he sat up and saw that it was only one in the morning. Gulping, Sy realized he had to pee very badly. He had half a mind to wake up Jaden, but he didn't want to bother the other boy unless it was an emergency. He'd just have to run to the bathroom, go quickly, and run back into bed. The bathroom was only five feet away, across from their room, so it wasn't far.

Slowly, Sy slipped out of the bed and looked around in the dark room nervously. Hurriedly, he ran across the hall and into the bathroom and shut the door just enough, leaving it open a crack. He lifted the toilet seat and relieved himself as fast as he could. Then he quickly flushed the toilet and ran his hands under the water briefly. As he reached for the door, it suddenly shut on him. Sy whimpered and jumped back. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle and instantly he wheeled around. Sy let out a squeak of fear as his eyes caught sight of a dark figure looming outside of the small window in the bathroom.

Scrambling to his feet, Sy tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Heavy breathing sounded through the window and Sy frantically pounded on the door, nearly hyperventilating as he tried to escape. He heard the window squeak and he whirled around, pressing his back against the door as he saw the window open. A bony hand came through the window and Sy stared at it, his eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, the door opened and Sy fell backward, landing with a thud on the floor.

Sy looked up from his position on the floor and saw Zane standing over him, a grim expression on his face.

"Zane!" Sy exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "It's the mummy, it's outside the window!"

Pushing past him, Zane went inside the bathroom and toward the open window. Sy stood shaking in his spot and Zane looked out of the window. Then he shut it and locked it.

"There's nothing there. I told you it's all in your head."

"It was there, Zane!" Sy said as tears built up in his eyes. "Please believe me."

Zane's eyes narrowed slightly. "I have a very important final match tomorrow. Whatever is scaring you isn't real. You need to stop acting like a child."

"Zane," Sy whispered shakily; he was about ready to cry.

His brother walked past him and began heading back to his room.

"Zane, wait!" Sy exclaimed tearfully.

Stopping, the older boy turned partially around.

"Are you…," Sy tried to hold back his tears, "are you ashamed of me?"

Zane closed his eyes briefly and turned back around. "This isn't the time for that. If I don't get some sleep I will be at a disadvantage tomorrow."

"Please, just tell me," Sy whispered, his lips quivering.

Zane turned and gave him a cool look. "I told you it's late. If I don't do well tomorrow because of lack of sleep I'm going to regret doing this favor for you. I only did it to prove to you there are no such things as mummies. It's just a prank. Now, get to bed."

With that, Zane turned and walked into his room shutting the door quietly. Sniffling, Sy wiped at his eyes and trudged back to the room. He knew he had to wake up Jaden. He was the only one who believed him. Sy walked into the room and fell forward as something grabbed hold of his ankle. Sy let out a squeak and grabbed hold of the doorway wall. Turning his head, Sy let out a scream as he saw the corpse staring at him, its decaying hand keeping a strong hold on his ankle. It began pulling him along the floor out of the room and Sy tried to keep his grip on the wall.

Unexpectedly, to Sy's relief, a warm hand grabbed his before his grip slipped. Jaden pulled him hard, forcing the corpse to release its hold on him. Sy fell atop the other boy and burst into tears. Jaden embraced him tightly and helped him to his feet. The corpse was no longer there.

"Come on!" Jaden exclaimed, grabbing his hand.

They rushed out of the room and crashed into something. Being since they both had been holding one another's hand, they both fell atop someone, landing on them with a big thump.

"Get off of me!" Chazz exclaimed, trying to throw them off.

"What's going on?"

Sy glanced up to see Zane standing outside his door with crossed arms. Chazz pushed both Jaden and Sy off of him and stood up, glaring at them.

"They're both trying to wake the whole school that's what's going on! I told you this was a bad idea!"

"We aren't making this up!" Jaden exclaimed vehemently. "You saw the marks on Sy's neck!" he pointed toward the smaller boy.

Both Chazz and Zane glanced at him and Chazz just snorted. "That could've been from anyone, not a mummy!"

"I'm telling you I saw the mummy too! I even _felt_ it! It had Sy by the leg and I had to get it off him. Look, we think that down in the chamber beneath the springs we awakened a spirit. We opened its sarcophagus and I know we shouldn't have, but you have to help us!"  
"Right, and by opening this sarcophagus you released a thousand-year-old mummy who's trying to kill you," Chazz said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, how old are you two?"

"You both saw the mummy in the hot springs! It tried to _drown_ Sy, remember?" Jaden countered desperately.

"That thing wasn't a mummy. It was someone's idea of a prank that got out-of-hand," Chazz said, crossing his arms.

"That's enough," Zane said coldly, his eyes narrowing. "I told you I need my sleep. This was a mistake and it's not happening again."

Sy's eyes widened. "Fine! I'll prove it to you!" he shouted as tears leaked from his eyes.

Suddenly, he ran a distance away from them to the middle of the hallway.

"Sy, no!" Jaden exclaimed, extending a hand.

"I'm going to prove it to you that it's not our imagination!" Sy exclaimed as more tears began to come.

Jaden looked like he was ready to run to him, but he stayed in his spot. The three of them stared at Sy as he stood in the center of the hallway. He was breathing heavily and scared out of his mind, but he had to do it. After all, if the mummy appeared then Zane and Chazz would believe them. And although he was putting himself at risk, he had the three of them right there.

"I don't see anything," Chazz said, yawning widely. "Do you Zane?"

Zane stared at Sy, his expression cool and firm. "No."

"There, you see? You're both having the same nightmare," Chazz said, glaring at Jaden.

"Please," Sy said, "give it another—"

Sy's words halted as he felt a hand squeeze around his throat. He made a gagging sound and he saw the terror on his boyfriend's face.

"SY!" Jaden shouted vehemently.

A hand was on his throat while an arm wrapped tightly around his waist, lifting him off the floor. Chazz and Zane turned and Sy could see the surprise on both of their faces. Unable to scream, Sy looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the mummy's face staring back at him. Jaden made a move to run to him and as he did the mummy suddenly shot into the air with Sy in its grasp.

"SYRUS!" Jaden shouted as the mummy crashed through the ceiling and disappeared into the dark with him. "NO!!"

Jaden slumped to the floor, feeling the sting of tears behind his eyes.

"What the _hell_—?" Chazz shouted, pointing up with wide eyes.

"Look what you've done!" Jaden shouted, jumping up and wheeling around. "It has Syrus now! It's probably going to kill him and it's all your fault!"

Jaden turned around and ran down the stairs, bursting out of the Obelisk blue dorm. He had to find Sy; he wouldn't let the mummy kill him. He ran and ran until his lungs were burning. Since the academy was very spacious, with some buildings spread out on the island, it would take forever to check every possible place that the mummy would take Sy. At this rate, he would never get there in time; Sy might already be…

Jaden shook his head harshly; he had promised his boyfriend that he wouldn't let anything happen to him. He had to think; this wasn't a duel, but it still required logic. Suddenly, an idea came to him at the thought of a duel. Pulling out his deck, which he kept with him at all times, Jaden pulled out the Karibo card.

"Karibo, I need your help," Jaden whispered, clutching the card tightly.

The energetic spirit appeared beside him and Karibo cocked its head curiously.

"Karibo, find Sy!"

Making an echoing noise, Karibo floated off and Jaden followed it. He was so focused on following Karibo that he didn't see two figures walking on his left until they collided. He heard a boy yelp and the force caused Jaden to fall down backward. Jaden crashed to the ground and Karibo stopped and floated next to him.

"Get out of my way!" Jaden exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Why don't you watch where you're going slacker?" a cool voice snapped.

Jaden glanced up to see Chazz brushing himself off as he stood up. The older boy wasn't alone; Zane was standing near Chazz with a cool expression on his face.

"I have to find Sy!" Jaden shouted, clenching his fists. "So get out of my way!"

Chazz glared at him. "Is that any way to talk to the people who are trying to help you!"

Jaden's eyes widened. "What? I don't understand; I thought you two didn't believe us about the mummy being real."

"What does it matter?" Zane replied coolly. "If you want help finding Sy then I suggest we start looking."

"I thought you didn't care what happens to him," Jaden said.

Zane's eyes narrowed. "Look, I'm not arguing with you. Do you want our help or not?"

"Fine! Let's hurry! Karibo's leading the way!" Jaden exclaimed, dashing off after the spirit.

"Why _are_ we helping him again?" Chazz questioned.

Zane just turned around and began walking quickly after Jaden.

"Hey!" Chazz exclaimed, hurrying to catch up. "What's your deal?"

Zane glanced at him intensely. "You were the one who seemed to want to help."

Chazz looked surprised for a moment and then just crossed his arms as they sped to follow Jaden.

"You believe them about that mummy being real?"

"I don't know what to believe, but Sy was kidnapped. I don't tolerate immature pranks such as this, especially ones that go too far. Duelist Academy is for those who are serious about dueling and anyone who continues to do pranks shouldn't be allowed. Sy may not be the brother I imagined when I was younger," Zane said closing his eyes briefly before he stared ahead. "He is shy, clumsy, too sensitive and not very confident, which makes him second-guess himself too much during duels. But he's still my brother."

"Is that the only reason—that you feel obligated because he's your brother? My brothers certainly wouldn't feel an obligation to save me if I were in trouble. And I wouldn't want to save them. Being related doesn't mean that you _have_ to help or that you'll love each other no matter what," Chazz retorted. "My brothers only used me and I don't regret that I never speak to them anymore."

Zane was silent for a moment, focusing his gaze on Jaden who was a distance ahead of them.

"No, I suppose I'm not obligated."

"Look, don't get me wrong or anything, I'm not against siblings who take care of one another just because my family's screwed up. It's just that…like with the Shadow Riders when your brother was kidnapped by that vampire-lady and you could've saved yourself and the _world_ by sacrificing your brother. The thing is that you didn't have to save him. Not that I'm saying I wanted your brother to die. I don't even wish that for my brothers, but…I guess when you think about saving the world one life doesn't seem so important. And everyone knows how you treat Syrus so…why would you sacrifice your very life for a brother you're not very fond of when the world is at stake? Is it that you figured Jaden would eventually fight her and win?"

Zane didn't look at him and continued to stare ahead. "That's part of it. I did know that Jaden had the ability to beat her."

Chazz glanced at him and his usual annoyed expression vanished. "But…you care for him, don't you?"

Chazz continued to stare at him as they walked and Zane didn't reply. Sighing, Chazz folded his arms behind his head.

"I suppose your brother has gotten a lot better. His grades are picking up and I heard from Bastion that he's ready for Ra yellow. He's probably taking his time because he doesn't want to leave Jaden-the-slacker behind. Still…your brother may be extremely annoying much of the time, and wimpy, but I guess it'd be kind of boring without him. He and Jaden provide some interesting entertainment sometimes."

Slowly, Zane's lips curled upward just slightly, although he kept his arms crossed.

"So, how exactly do you feel about Jaden dating your brother?"

Zane's eyes narrowed instantly and he gave Chazz a cool look. "Let's focus on finding Sy right now."

Chazz inwardly smirked knowing that once the mysterious mummy problem was solved it was going to be great fun watching Zane confront Jaden on the subject. He just couldn't wait.

**XXXXX**

Sy could scarcely breathe. He didn't know how long he had been passed out because he had hyperventilated after the mummy had snatched him. He was lying on the ground staring up the sky. Fear consumed him and he tried to move only he realized that he couldn't. His arms and legs had been tied down with vines and he noticed that he was in the middle of the woods by the Slifer dorms. His eyes widened when he noticed something else that wasn't right—he was lying on the ground surrounded by a symbol that had been drawn into the dirt. His body was in the center of what looked like an oval inside of a pyramid. Turning his head, he almost screeched when he realized it was the symbol of an eye that he was in the center of.

The sound of rustling caused his head to jerk in the direction. Out of the shadows came a familiar looming figure. Sy screamed and struggled as the mummy approached him. It held something in its hand and when it raised it toward him, Sy saw that it was the ring that had been on his finger. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared at it.

The mummy's jaw moved and suddenly strange words were coming out of its mouth, similar to the words that it had said in his dreams. Seconds later the ring began to glow and Sy couldn't tear his gaze away from it; the ring seemed to have magical elements to it. Maybe he and Jaden had been right—maybe the ring was what the mummy wanted all along. But why wouldn't it let him go if it had what it wanted?

"Please…let me go!" Sy begged. "You have the ring. I'm sorry for taking it! Just please let me go!"

The mummy stared at him and continued murmuring words. Sy was trembling now and he struggled even harder against the vines. Then the creature raised the ring toward the sky. The clouds began to move together and thunder crackled in the air. A golden-yellow light erupted from the ring and was sent into the clouds. The sky began to turn a reddish hue and Sy could only stare at it in horror.

Just then, the light from the ring came down from the now reddish sky and headed straight for him. Sy let out a shriek as it hit him, surrounding him in a blinding light. He had closed his eyes out of reaction and when he opened them he realized that the symbol of the eye that he was lying on was glowing beneath him. The mummy approached even closer—too close for comfort. Sy screamed, trying to get away as it grabbed his hand roughly. Sy couldn't move for his wrists and ankles were bound, but the mummy unexpectedly forced the ring back on his finger. It was still glowing and it filled Sy's body with a strange tingling sensation.

Then the mummy stood up to its full height and its decayed jaw moved in a way that made it look like it was smiling. From where Sy lay, it looked incredibly terrifying, as if it was smiling wickedly at him.

"SY!"

His head jerked toward the noise and Sy nearly cried with relief when he saw his boyfriend emerge from the trees into the clearing. What surprised him more were the two figures that appeared behind him seconds later: Chazz and Zane.

"Help me!" Sy screamed.

The mummy had turned around and moved in front of him, blocking Sy from their view.

"That thing looks like it came right out of a horror film!" Chazz exclaimed.

"We have to get Sy!" Jaden shouted to them.

"You go to Sy," Zane said coolly as his eyes narrowed toward the mummy. "We'll distract it."

Chazz's head jerked toward the older teen. "_What_?"

Jaden slipped behind Zane as the two older boys approached the mummy. Chazz immediately picked up a large stick and waved it threateningly. The mummy's jaw moved and it began approaching them. Meanwhile, Jaden had slipped into some bushes and was crawling on the ground out-of-sight. As the mummy approached Zane and Chazz, it became further away from Sy. Jaden emerged from the bushes a distance behind the mummy and Sy spotted him. His boyfriend quietly rushed over to him and knelt down.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

Sy nodded, his eyes filled with tears. "Jaden, I don't understand what it wants from me. It took the ring and made it glow and stuff but then it put it back on my finger."

Jaden glanced at the ring and noticed it was illuminating a strange and eerie glow. He tried to take it off Sy's finger, but it wouldn't budge.

"Come on you big ugly mummy!" Chazz shouted, throwing the huge stick at it.

The mummy let out a hiss and lunged at him. Chazz let out a shriek that was extremely unexpected and dodged out of the way. Zane then grabbed a vine, twisting it in a loop and threw it around the mummy. The mummy let out a horrible sound as Zane tightened the vine around it, trapping its decaying arms at its side. Then he ran over to where Chazz and Jaden were hurriedly untying the vines from around Sy's wrists and ankles.

The mummy let out another hideous cry and suddenly began speaking in the strange language.

"What is it doing?" Chazz shouted as the last of the vines untied from Sy's body.

The entire shape lying around them, drawn into the ground, glowed magnificently.

"Damnit! It's blinding me!" Chazz shouted, covering his eyes.

"We have to get out of it!" Sy screamed. "Its some sort of dark magic I think!"

"Come on!" Zane exclaimed, grabbing Sy's arm roughly.

They all ran toward the edges and unexpectedly Sy was thrown backward as if he had collided into something.

"Sy!" Jaden exclaimed, running back toward him.

Suddenly light erupted from the ground in the outline of the eye. It rose to the sky blocking Sy in a force-field. Sy was trapped in the symbol of the eye and he pounded on the light, trying to break free.

"He's trapped!" Chazz exclaimed.

Suddenly, Jaden's eyes widened as the ground began to shake. He realized that Sy was trapped in the symbol of the eye, but they were currently standing within the traced outline of the pyramid that the eye was inside. Light erupted from the ground in the outline of the pyramid next and surrounded Jaden, Chazz and Zane in a separate force-field.

"What the hell?" Chazz shouted, looking mortified as they were surrounded by a similar beam of light.

Zane's eyes narrowed as he glared at the mummy, which had approached them and now had its arms raised as it continued speaking in the foreign tongue. The mummy itself had a strange aura around it. The light surrounding both separate force-fields began to get brighter until they could no longer see the mummy.

"This can't be good," Chazz said.

All of them were blinded by the light as it intensified and suddenly burst in a magnificent light. Both force-fields rose to the sky and if anyone had been a witness they would have seen Sy, Jaden, Chazz and Zane disappear with the light as it burst up into the reddening sky. Only a scorch mark lay on the ground where the pyramid surrounding the eye symbol had been. The mummy too had completely vanished.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	9. Danger in the Past

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Chapter 8****: Danger in the Past**

Sy lifted his head, feeling the throb of his muscles all over. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes and sat up. Upon opening his eyes and looking around, Sy found himself staring in awe at his surroundings. He was currently sitting on the ground only meters from a large, glorious palace. It was made of a smooth ivory marble with golden sphinx statues outside it seemingly guarding the entrance. Guards stood outside the entrance doors as well and a couple of them were on horses riding slowly around the perimeter of the palace.

He realized he was in the village part of town where tents and vendors set up shop. The palace was so large that he could see it clearly even though he was a distance away. Still, he rose quickly to his feet and searched for signs of his brother or Jaden, but he couldn't see them; he was all alone.

Sy tried to move but then he realized something was loosely tied around his waist and when he moved he heard something fall to the ground. It was then that he turned and saw that he had been lying right next to a vendor display and there was a tent around him and its top draped above him.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake."

Sy started and tried to move but the rope stopped him. It was in at least a double knot and he was too afraid to try to untie himself. Out of the shadows came a figure and when it stood in front of him Sy could see everything: his tan skin, dark blond hair, tattoos on either side of his arm in the shape of the symbol that he recognized from the one the mummy had trapped them in. His eyes were a dark purple and seemed to rip into his soul as the man stared down at him. Although he had a handsome face, he was intimidating and Sy couldn't stop himself from trembling.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The man gave him an eerie smirk and then knelt down toward him. Sy tried to scoot backward, but he couldn't get very far.

"I suppose I can tell you my name. After all, you're not from my country or my time. You know nothing about what's going on or what's about to happen. My name's Malik. And you're my ticket to freedom," he grinned widely.

Sy shook his head. "I just want to go back home…with my friends. Please let me go. I tried to give the mummy back his ring, but he wouldn't take it."

"That's because I don't want the ring," Malik said, standing back up. His toned abdomen was glistening in the light of the day, even though the tent was shading them. His chest was bare, but he had on what appeared to be a robe or toga-material wrapped around his waist. "I want another chance at life. I was wasting away in eternal misery not allowed to move on to the afterlife and yet I couldn't come back, not until _you_ freed me."

"Please," Sy pleaded as his lips trembled, "please, I didn't mean any harm."

Malik laughed and bent down again. This time he harshly grabbed Sy's chin and leaned closer. "Oh, I'm glad you intervened, boy, or otherwise I would've been trapped as a useless decaying corpse! Now, you see, you're going to change that for me."

"W-what?" Sy stammered fearfully, his silver-blue eyes widening. "But…you can't change what's already happened."

"Oh, but I beg to differ," Malik sneered, tilting Sy's chin up. "You see, I am a practiced sorcerer. And I had planned to steal the pharaoh's throne, but even after I killed the pharaoh and thought I could kill his young son, the prince, the son proved stronger than I thought. And I was captured and condemned with the worst of deaths—the Amun-Ra ritual. It's the most painful torture and such a slow death," he hissed, putting his face right up to Sy's.

"And a curse is placed on the soul of the one undergoing the ritual, making it so their soul is trapped in eternal torment unable to move on or find relief. I've been trapped there for…for more than a thousand years I'm sure, but it's hard to keep track of time when it just seems endless."

Sy was frightened behind even when he was confronted by the hideous mummy. This man, Malik, in his human form was more terrifying than when he was a decaying corpse.

"You…you're a sorcerer…a-and that's how you weren't able to die?"

"No, it's the curse that doesn't allow me to die, boy," he said as his eyes narrowed. "But I do have powers, not ones that are as great as the pharaoh's, and as I found out not even as great as the prince's, but I have abilities. And this time I know my mistake; I won't underestimate anyone. Not to mention, I've got _you_ this time around."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do with me?" Sy asked fearfully.

Malik just sneered at him, squeezed his chin harshly and then stood back up. "That's none of your concern. For the time being you'll just have to remain here, just until the sun reaches its highest peak in the sky. And then it will be time. Not much longer."

The man turned around and Sy, even in his terror, blurted out: "What have you done with my friends?"

Hesitating, Malik slowly turned back around and then he came toward Sy so swiftly that he didn't even have time to try to back away. Malik grabbed him at the throat and pushed him against the table.

"Your friends weren't supposed to interfere at all! They're here somewhere and if they do anything to screw up my plan I'll kill you all. Trust me, even if they try to ruin my plan with the pharaoh I'll still have enough power to kill you all and take you with me to my grave, if I have to."

Sy whimpered as Malik's grip tightened on his throat. "Y-you're going to kill me anyway, aren't you?"

Malik loosened his grip and stared into Sy's terrified gaze. He then smirked and raised an eyebrow. "No, boy. _I'm_ not going to kill you. At least not if I don't have to. If my plan goes accordingly I won't have to be the one to kill you and instead I can make my move before anyone can catch me. And this time my motives won't be known to anyone. No, they'll never figure me out this time."

Standing up away from Sy who still remained crouched against the table, Malik turned his back but not without saying one last thing.

"Don't even try to escape. The time is almost here and if you try to escape I'll make sure you're in great agony. I don't necessarily need you in perfect condition for my plan to work, so if you do anything other than sit there and listen to me I'll break a bone or two, understand?"

Biting his trembling lip to keep from crying, Sy jerked his head in a reluctant nod and Malik, after glancing over his shoulder to see his response, walked away. Sy tried his best not to cry, but he couldn't help thinking about his boyfriend and his brother and how he might never see them again. He only hoped they weren't in any danger.

**XXXXXX**

"Where the hell are we and why is it so damn hot?" Chazz complained.

Zane just stared ahead ignoring his complaints. They both had woken up nearby one another. Zane had woken up first nearby a tent and spotted Chazz not far behind another tent. They were somewhere in the midst of a market and people were speaking in another language for the most part. They hadn't heard any English and if Zane wasn't mistaken, it sounded a lot like the people were speaking Egyptian. Jaden and Sy hadn't been with them, but they had to be somewhere in this city.

"It seems we're in Egypt."

"Yeah, but what century?" Chazz retorted, glancing at the clothing people were wearing.

Zane glanced at him. "I'm not sure. This could be an illusion."

"Doesn't feel like one," Chazz grumbled. "And I'm hungry. So if it's an illusion we can steal some food and taste it, right?"

Zane just crossed his arms carelessly and Chazz rolled his eyes. Grumbling as he snuck in back of one of the tents, he waited until the person in the tent looked away and then snatched up what appeared to be an exotic fruit. Then he approached Zane again.

"Well, it certainly feels real."

He broke open the fruit and took a bite. "Yep, it's real."

Zane's eyes narrowed. "It's hard to believe considering this seems like it's centuries in the past at least."

"Well, come on, Zane, we've seen and experienced Shadow Duels, right?" Chazz asked, swallowing another bite of fruit. "So why should mummies be any different? We've all experienced way too many weird things in the past in dueling so why should time travel be any different? Besides, did you see the way that mummy glowed? I'll bet it was some sort of dark ritual. Maybe that mummy works for a Shadow Rider or something."

"We beat all the Shadow Riders, Chazz. And he certainly didn't seem to want to duel," Zane said coolly. "If we have traveled back in time it must be a time that's useful to that man."

"What man?"

"Whoever that mummy used to be, perhaps. Maybe he's trying to change his destiny."

"Frankly, he seemed to just want your brother. But why, I don't know. I mean, why would he attempt to kill him but then send him here? I know he didn't intend us to come along, but why would he even bring Sy here?"

Zane's gaze darkened as he stared at the large palace off in the distance. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is I'm sure it's not good."

Chazz drank the juice from the fruit and then tossed it behind him without even noticing he nearly hit a bird flying nearby.

"So what's our move then?"

"We should probably head to that palace."

Chazz raised an eyebrow. "And what, ask the king to help send us back to our own time?"

"Pharaoh," Zane corrected him.

"Whatever," Chazz grunted, waving his hand carelessly. "Are you thinking about finding out who our mummy friend is?"

"I doubt we could. I'm certain he wouldn't take us back in time unless it was before he became a mummy. And without knowing his name there'd be no way of finding out. So for now we'll head in that direction and perhaps find Jaden or Sy on the way."

"That's it? That's your grand plan?" Chazz asked, gesturing with his arms. "Well that's just great. Why don't we just sit around and do nothing for that matter?"

"You can stay here if you like," Zane said, walking in the direction of the palace.

Chazz glared at his back. "That's not what I meant! Hey, wait up!"

**XXXXX**

Sy was trying to be brave and think up a strategy to escape this madman, but he couldn't think of anything. He wanted to search for Jaden at least, but if he made one move Malik would hear him and probably would hurt him. Suddenly, a shadow cast over him and Sy jumped.

Malik approached him and reached out to grab his arm roughly. "It's time."

"No! Let me go!" Sy exclaimed fearfully.

He couldn't say more because Malik squeezed his jaw with one hand as he untied him.

"I'll break your arm or all your fingers if I have to!" Malik hissed vehemently. "So don't try to run!"

Sy gazed at him fearfully as Malik forced him to come with him. They were headed in the direction of the palace. He was dragged all the way, swallowing his sobs and hoping that his brother or Jaden would spot him. He even hoped Chazz would see him just so long as he got away from Malik somehow.

They arrived in front of the palace and guards immediately tensed at the sight of them.

"I have an urgent request to speak with the pharaoh. I have captured a thief!"

Sy's head jerked in horror toward Malik who squeezed his arm even more tightly to keep him quiet.

The guards spoke in whispers and finally gestured for Malik to follow him. The guard led them through the entrance doors and down the majestic hallway toward a room. They were to wait outside until the guard spoke with the pharaoh. Sy was trembling with fear and moments later they were allowed inside. Malik roughly pushed him along and Sy saw an older man sitting on a throne with a young man standing beside him. Sy stared at the young man's similar hair color to Yugi Mutou's and even his deep ruby eyes. He had tan skin, though, and appeared to be the heir to the throne.

"What is this you have brought?" the pharaoh demanded after Malik bowed.

"My pharaoh, I have found a thief! See, he has stolen one of the sacred, mystical rings from the former pharaoh's tomb!" Malik exclaimed, pointing to the ring on Sy's finger.

Sy shook his head fearfully and Malik pushed him toward the floor. The pharaoh stared at Sy with an intimidating expression.

"I see. Let me see that ring."

"It won't come off his finger. I have tried already, unless of course you wish me to cut his finger off."

Sy whimpered in response and tensed instantly. The pharaoh waved his hand.

"Just bring him forward then."

Malik roughly threw Sy toward them and Sy could only tremble and stare at the floor. Malik grabbed his hand and showed it to the pharaoh.

"That is my father's ring," he said finally and Sy lowered his head even more. "Look at me boy."

Sy reluctantly raised his face and while tears shimmered in his eyes he didn't let them fall. The pharaoh had a stern look upon his face. Sy's eyes darted toward the prince whose kinder yet fierce crimson eyes studied him carefully.

Sy was still forced in a kneeling position in front of the pharaoh.

"For stealing such a sacred treasure, boy, you will be sentenced to five years in the dungeon."

Sy looked up at him tearfully, knowing that if he tried to speak he might make things worse. The pharaoh gestured to the guards to take off the ring, but as hard as they tried it wouldn't budge. The pharaoh frowned.

"We'll have to get it off later then."

The pharaoh then picked up his wine.

"Wait, my pharaoh!" Malik exclaimed. "I don't trust him. I've seen him lurking nearby the palace many a times. Please let me check your wine for poison."

"Poison?" the pharaoh asked surprised. "This thief hardly seems

capable of murder."

"I don't trust him my pharaoh. Please let me taste it for you. My life is meaningless compared to yours."

The pharaoh gazed at him for a moment and then nodded. One of the guards took the wine glass and gave it to him. Malik ran his finger along the rim, sniffed it, and then took a sip.

"Well, it seems to be fine," the pharaoh stated. "As I said, this boy seems to be just a common thief."

Malik's hands clutched at the wine goblet much more than necessary. "I still worry, my pharaoh. You can never tell these days."

"I appreciate the concern, but I think this is a simple case. However, we might need to look into his family."

As the pharaoh spoke, Sy watched out of the corner of his eye and saw Malik's palm brush across the goblet, running his fingers over the jewels. Sy swore that the goblet had a faint glimmer to it briefly. Malik then held out the wine goblet and the guard took it. Suddenly, Malik groaned loudly and clutched at his stomach. He collapsed to the floor, seemingly in agony.

"What's this?" the pharaoh exclaimed, standing up from his throne.

"It was poisoned!" a guard explained, coming over to help Malik.

"I'm…I'm okay, my pharaoh!" Malik wheezed, clutching at his stomach.

The pharaoh's eyes were suddenly on Sy. "Seize that boy!"

The guards grabbed Sy harshly and he cried out in pain. "No, please!"

Malik pretended to cough and moan as he knelt on the floor. Sy struggled against the guards, screaming for them to let him go.

"Take the boy to the dungeon! For attempting to poison me he shall be sentenced to death!" the pharaoh exclaimed.

Sy's heart skipped a beat and tears came to his eyes. He shook his head again, unable to say a word.

"But father," the prince spoke up. "There isn't concrete evidence he was the one to do it. How would he have gotten inside the palace to poison your wine? It's fresh from the bottle."

"I c-can answer that," Malik wheezed. "I've been suspicious of this boy for a while. He's an orphan and as far as I know there's no record of who his parents are. His name is Sy and may even have accomplices, but he…I'm sure he knows some dark magic."

The pharaoh's eyes widened in shock and Sy just sobbed and shook his head, unable to think clearly through his fear.

"A sorcerer? Impossible! He's much too young!"

"But his father…his father could've been one and taught him some things. All I know is this boy is not normal, my pharaoh!" Malik cried out, then winced and clutched at his stomach.

"Dump that goblet, clean it and make a fresh batch of wine. And throw this…street-thief and murderer into the dungeon! For attempting to kill the pharaoh, the one who does the bidding for our god Ra, he will be given the Amun-Ra!"

Sy screamed and sobbed at the same time, shutting his eyes in absolute fear.

"Father! We can't perform such a ritual on a boy so young! It's again the law!" the prince exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yami, don't question my judgment!" the pharaoh bellowed.

"But the Amun-Ra ritual is for only severe criminals! We don't even have concrete evidence he was the one who poisoned the wine!"

The pharaoh gazed at Yami harshly and then sat back down in his throne. "Keep the boy in the dungeon until we figure out a fair punishment for his crime."

"But Pharaoh! You can't possibly be thinking of letting him get away with just a dungeon sentence!" Malik exclaimed. "It's no coincidence that your goblet was poisoned in his presence is it? It must've been some sort of sorcery!"

"We don't know he has any powers," Yami spoke up.

"Silence, Yami!" the pharaoh exclaimed, glancing at him coolly. "I agree that it's much too suspicious to just forget. But it's true…the Amun-Ra ritual is meant for the most horrid of criminals and it would…seem unjust to use it on a child. My people I'm sure would find it appalling. Take him to the dungeon while I think of an appropriate punishment!"

Tears trickled down Sy's cheeks and he tried not to cry loudly. The guards dragged him off toward the dungeon. It was damp and scary and Sy was tossed into a cell. He curled into a ball wondering if he'd ever see Jaden or Zane again. He wasn't sure what Malik's plan with him was…it seemed that perhaps he wanted Sy dead, but he hoped that the pharaoh would have pity on him. They couldn't kill him without proof like the prince Yami said, could they? He had a feeling that Malik's plan for him was much worse than spending years in a dungeon.

Sometime later, guards came and pulled Sy out of the dungeon and brought him before the pharaoh again.

"I have thought about your punishment. And while I see the ring on your finger I have yet to see any magic."

Malik was still there, probably making excuses to hang around because he brought Sy there. Yami was there as well as several guards and the pharaoh's vizier.

"If this boy has magic, why wouldn't he use it to try to escape? And seeing as how Malik hasn't died it might not have been poison. It could've been wine gone bad and there's no proof either way. I suppose if nothing else happens, his punishment should be a year in the dungeon."

Sy whimpered and hung his head low, wishing that this was all just a bad dream. He glanced over at Malik to see that he didn't seem to be concerned that he wasn't being put to death.

"Take him away," the pharaoh said, picking up his goblet of fresh wine. The pharaoh took a sip from his wine goblet and suddenly seized his throat. At first it appeared that the pharaoh was choking but his face turned a ghastly white and even as a guard rushed over to him, the pharaoh collapsed off his throne.

"Father!" Yami cried out as a guard stopped him from approaching the pale, unmoving pharaoh.

"The pharaoh's dead! He's been murdered, poisoned!" the guard yelled.

Sy's heart was pounding so hard he thought he might faint.

"It must be the thief!" Malik bellowed, pointing at Sy.

Sy let out a sob and shook his head over and over. "I didn't do it!"

He screamed as a guard approached him quickly.

"No!" Yami yelled, stopping the guard before he had reached Sy. "There is no proof that this boy is responsible."

"But Sire, he broke into a past pharaoh's tomb! He must've been after the pharaoh!" the guard exclaimed.

"How would he have gotten close enough to his wine? He's been in the dungeon this whole time," Yami argued. "We cannot convict him for such a serious crime of murder of our pharaoh, with penalty of death, without concrete evidence!"

"Isn't it concrete enough that the first goblet of wine made me sick!" Malik exclaimed, remaining in his kneeling position. "I must not have drunk enough to have been killed, but this is proof!"

"It's fresh wine," Yami argued.

"Yes, but I'm sure the boy cursed the goblet with sorcery!" Malik shouted, staring at Sy. "If he did that it wouldn't matter if there's fresh wine. It'd be the goblet that's the problem! And that's the same goblet!"

"How do you know that?" Yami challenged.

Malik's jaw tensed and he pointed at Sy. "My prince, I think there's enough evidence to show this boy is a criminal and isn't it too much of a coincidence that after bringing him here the pharaoh gets poisoned?"

"We have no proof!" Yami exclaimed. "Death is not something we use freely unless certain!"

"But, your highness, there might never be a way to absolutely prove it. Not if he's used magic to cover his tracks! He was in the room with the goblet just hours before! And the pharaoh was going to sentence him to death!" Malik exclaimed, glancing at the dead pharaoh. "It seems only appropriate to fulfill the last wish that the pharaoh said."

"He said a year in the dungeon," Yami argued again, his expression firm.

"But the pharaoh's dead!" he exclaimed and Yami's eyes turned on him fiercely. "My prince," Malik added, bowing his head low and glancing back up. "Doesn't that change the circumstances? The pharaoh first said the boy should be killed! And why not? It's very possible that he could have magic and therefore you'd be in danger as well my prince," Malik pointed out.

"Yes, your highness, that's true!" a guard exclaimed.

"We can't take that risk," another man said.

"But vizier," Yami began.

The vizier shook his head. "As kind as you are Yami, these are times of trouble. And the death of a pharaoh is severe. It is suspicious that this boy somehow had gotten through such advanced protection of the former pharaoh's tomb and stole the sacred ring and then comes here and the pharaoh's poisoned with a fresh glass of wine!"

Yami looked torn and he stared with a frown at the vizier.

"Under the law, until you have undergone the ritual initiation to take your father's place on the throne, I am to stand as council," the vizier stated. "And I believe this boy should be killed."

"But to condemn a child to the Amun-Ra ritual is barbaric!" Yami bellowed, causing the vizier and all the guards to stare at him in surprise and alarm. He had a powerful voice and his gaze was intimidating even despite his young age.

"Yes, and the people would no doubt find it appalling as well," the vizier answered. "So not the Amun-Ra ritual, but he shall be sentenced to death."

Tears ran down Sy's cheeks as he tried to hold back his sobs. "I didn't do it, I swear!"

Malik turned and glared at him, but Sy was too afraid to notice him. Yami's eyes gazed into his and Sy could see compassion. Just as he opened his mouth to plead some more, the guards grabbed him and lifted him up easily.

"We will take him into the ritual chamber, but first we must make an announcement to the citizens."

Malik looked up surprised. "Is it necessary?"

"Yes, to make a statement to the people that not only has their pharaoh been murdered, but that no person shall get away with such horrible crimes."

"If we show the boy's face in public then perhaps someone will recognize him," Yami suggested. "If we discover who his parents are, or where he's from and his position we'll be able to better understand if he's innocent or guilty. And if anyone speaks up for him…"

"I understand, my prince. Tomorrow we'll sound the horn to call the people to the palace," the vizier stated. "Take this boy to the dungeon and we'll see if anyone recognizes him tomorrow. Until then, we shall prepare for your initiation as our new pharaoh, prince Yami."

Yami bowed his head slightly and nodded. The guards took Sy away back into the dungeon and made sure it was locked tightly. The sun was beginning to go down and dusk was quickly approaching. Tomorrow wasn't far away. Sy huddled in a corner of the barred cell. A moment later the door opened and Sy instantly jumped with fear. His wide eyes stared at the door and he saw a guard enter and behind him came the prince, Yami.

Yami approached the cell and Sy stayed away from him uncertainly. The guard was right behind Yami, but the prince gestured for the guard to leave.

"What is your name?" Yami asked.

His lips were trembling, but he managed to answer. "Syrus."

Yami nodded. "I mustn't stay here long. It's not the pharaoh's place, or the prince's to be down here. If the vizier knew I was in here instead of in my room, well…Tell me. Did you kill my father?"

Sy shook his head fearfully. "I didn't prince Yami, I swear it! It was…," he trailed off.

How much of the truth should he tell? Would the prince even believe him?

"I do not believe in using death as a penalty unless there are extreme circumstances. The murder of a pharaoh is one, but I…I am doubtful as to how you would be able to kill him and when you could've had time to poison the goblet, even with magic."

"Please, I don't know any magic. It's the man I was with," Sy whispered desperately. "It was Malik."

Yami's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced at the door, obviously running out of time. "Malik?"

"He kidnapped me," Sy said, lifting up his shirt to show the marks from the rope that were still visible around his stomach. "He tied me up and stuck the ring on my finger. He kidnapped me away from my brother and friends. You have to believe me! If you could find my brother…if you could just give more time my brother could tell you I'm innocent and that I'd never hurt someone!"

Yami sighed heavily. "I'm afraid I can't buy any more time. Until my initiation, the vizier does what he thinks is best for me and for Egypt. However, if your brother is nearby he will surely come to the meeting tomorrow when everyone's called. And he can speak out for you then."

Sy sniffled and Yami gave him a melancholy look before he walked out. He hoped that his brother or Jaden would be there. Some time later, when it was dark outside (he could tell from the tiny, high window in the room that wasn't even big enough to fit him and it was much too high to escape from), he was still huddled in the corner. And suddenly, Sy felt a cold chill sweep over him. The hairs on his neck stood up and Sy looked fearfully at the door as it suddenly opened. Sy let out a sound of terror as he saw Malik come inside and slowly close the door.

"No!" Sy exclaimed, trying to keep as far away from him as possible. "They wouldn't have let you stay!"

Malik laughed quietly, although still maliciously. "Of course not, boy. I left after they dragged you back in here, but I used a spell on the guards to keep them like zombies until I was inside through one of the back windows. And then I used it on the guard that protects the dungeon. No one will ever know I was here."

"S-stop…what are you doing?" Sy asked fearfully as Malik reached behind his back.

Sy nearly screamed as Malik pulled out a long dagger, but Malik silenced him with a wave of his hand and some strange words. It suddenly felt as though his vocal chords had been taken out for he couldn't say a word.

"I'm afraid I can't risk your friends interfering tomorrow. I'll have to make it look like a suicide."

Sy shook his head over and over as Malik approached the cell and touched the lock. Sy saw his eyes glow brightly and the cell opened.

"Unfortunately, they'd have a hard time believing it was a suicide unless I make them believe that you used a jagged part of stone from the cracked floor or wall to cut yourself. Even if they examined your body, by the time they figured out it wasn't a suicide I'd have control of the throne and prince Yami would be out of my way," he whispered. "As it is, everyone in the palace is asleep and the guard is still in my trance."

Malik stepped inside and Sy scrambled to get away from him, but there was no where else to go. Malik pointed at the wall and a piece of the stone broke off to make it look as though Sy would use the broken piece to kill himself.

"I'll just spill some of your blood on the broken piece and no one will ever know, at least not until it's too late," Malik said, his eyes gleaming in the dark.

Sy tried to keep away from him, but Malik grabbed him by the arm roughly. Sy kicked him in the stomach, but Malik pinned him down, holding the dagger above him. Tears leaked out of Sy's eyes as Malik forced his hands above his head and moved the dagger toward his wrists.

The door suddenly opened and Sy glanced up as Malik's head shot up in surprise. Another guard stepped inside with his sword drawn and saw Malik on top of him.

"Hold it!" the guard yelled.

Malik grabbed Sy roughly and picked him up. His magic must've worn off because the other guard who was in a trance came in, looking confused.

"Stop right there!"

"You move and this boy dies! And trust me, this is the son of your enemy—another king in another country and when he finds out his son has been murdered he'll wage war on Egypt!" Malik hissed, holding the dagger at Sy's throat.

Sy's vocal chords still weren't working and the guards backed away.

"Move away from the door!"

The guards reluctantly began to move and Malik raised his other hand toward them, sending them hurling backward into the wall. Then he ran, taking Sy with him. Malik ran for the entrance, carrying Sy in his arm and with the dagger in his other hand. A loud alarm sounded and Malik cursed. He ran with Sy toward the center of the town—the market where Sy first woke up.

Sy couldn't look back at the palace, for he was forced to look forward, and he hoped that the guards had woken Yami by now. Sy tried to speak and he felt his voice coming back. He tried not to make a sound until he waited another few minutes. And as they ran away from the palace, now farther than when Sy first awoke, he used his voice:

"JADEN! ZANE! HELP ME!" Sy screamed.

Malik angrily threw him to the ground. "You shut-up or I'll cut your throat!"

But Sy wasn't going to stop screaming. He knew that Malik would kill him anyway and that he was planning to do so once he got far enough away from the prince so they wouldn't catch him.

"I'll kill you now, you stupid boy!" Malik yelled. "The prince will be out for my head soon! You've ruined everything! And now I'll have to take time to form yet another plan and bide my time! And by then the prince will be pharaoh! But at least I'll get rid of you!"

He rose the dagger and Sy screamed loudly.

"SY!"

Jaden came running and skidded to a halt as he saw Malik posing to kill him.

"Get away from him!" Jaden yelled.

Malik made a move to slash him and Jaden shouted but suddenly the dagger was thrown from Malik's hand. A stick had been thrown at his hand, which caused the dagger to fly some feet away.

Zane appeared with narrowed eyes, followed by Chazz who ran up from behind.

"We've been searching everywhere for you!" Chazz exclaimed and then he saw Malik practically atop Sy.

"Whoa, is that the mummy?"

Malik hissed and with his hand he sent Chazz and Zane flying backward into a nearby tent.

"Zane! Chazz!" Jaden shouted in surprise then he turned an angry gaze on Malik. "You let Sy go now!"

Malik scowled angrily and made the same move with his hand but Jaden dodged the attack. Then with ease Malik lifted Sy back into his arms roughly and ran, taking off in another direction.

"JADEN!"

Jaden looked to where Chazz and Zane had been thrown and then, hoping they were alright, he dashed off after Malik. By this time, lights had come on in various houses nearby and the people were aware of a commotion. Malik was headed towards the outskirts of the city and Sy didn't know what he planned on doing but he knew it wasn't good.

"Let me go!" Sy screamed.

"I'm not doing anything you brat!" Malik spat. "Because of you my brilliant plan has to change and it'll be much harder to trick that damn Yami! But no matter, I've been trained as the pharaoh's priest, you see. I know all sorts of spells. He doesn't know I'm from the Ishtar line, but I'm sure he'll find out eventually. And now I'll have to go back even farther into time to try to prevent this! I've already used way too much magic and if I go back farther into time I won't have enough magic to get out of that! So this time I'll make sure you behave! I'll kill you once I get to that new time and I'll take that sacred ring as well. I don't need you anymore, not now that my plan has been ruined! And I'll make sure you pay with a painful death!"

Sy whimpered and struggled to get out of his grasp.

"And on top of that, once I leave this time with you your friends won't be able to get back. They don't have the power and without knowing what spell I used Yami can't help, even if he believes that you've all come from another time. So they'll spend the rest of their days in ancient Egypt!"

"NO!" Sy screamed. "I won't let you!" he said punching Malik's back over and over.

Suddenly, he felt pain on the back of his right leg. Sy cried out as he felt blood trickle down his calf.

"I'll cut you deeper the next time you struggle or scream!" Malik hissed loudly, sounding out-of-breath. "Once we reach the outskirts of the city I should have enough power again to go back further in time. It's risky without waiting for my body to recharge but I have no choice, thanks to you and your friends!"

Malik suddenly stopped running and cursed loudly in a different language (most likely Egyptian). Sy couldn't see since he was turned over Malik's shoulder this time. His right leg was throbbing and he wished he knew where Jaden was.

"Where's the damn boat! It should be here to get across the Nile!"

"Let him go!"

Malik wheeled around and Sy glanced up in time to glimpse Jaden catching up to them.

"I don't have enough powers to get across without jeopardizing having enough for time travel," Malik hissed quietly. "You move and I'll kill him!" Malik shouted, swinging Sy back over his shoulder until he hit the ground. Then he held the dagger at his throat.

Malik glared at Jaden, who didn't move a muscle and suddenly he threw Sy on the ground as if he was going to kill him. Jaden moved forward and Malik raised his hand. Sy screamed as Jaden was thrown backward quite a distance, skidding across the ground.

"NO! Jaden!"

"No more!" Malik hissed.

He threw Sy to the ground on his back and then Malik lunged forward with the dagger straight at his throat. Sy put up his hands for protection, screaming with terror. Suddenly, the ring glowed and Malik's eyes widened. He was suddenly pushed backward by an invisible force, nearly falling into the Nile. Sy scrambled to his feet, still confused and trembling with fear. He limped over toward Jaden and knelt down beside him. Jaden was unconscious and his arm was bleeding from an open scrape.

"Jaden! Please, wake up!"

"How did you do that, boy?" Malik bellowed angrily. "Only mystical people with powers can get that sacred ring to work!"

"Leave us alone!" Sy shouted.

Then Sy pointed the ring at him with his finger and Malik sneered. "You think you can command it like I could! You were lucky enough to conjure any powers at all!"

Sy realized it wasn't working and pretended to try to take the ring off. He reached down and grabbed a stone from behind his back and hid his hand so it looked as though he had pulled the ring off. Malik's eyes widened and Sy threw the stone as hard as he could toward the Nile.

"NO!" Malik shouted, running to catch it.

Sy took his chance and shook Jaden more roughly. Jaden groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Jaden! Come on, get up! We have to run!"

Jaden struggled to get up and Sy grabbed his hand. The two of them went in the other direction as fast as they could go. Jaden shook his head and was better, but Sy was still limping and it pained him to run.

"Come on, Sy! Get on my back!"

"No, it'll just slow us down!" Sy exclaimed, crying out in pain as his leg collapsed beneath him.

Jaden tried to help him up but was thrown backward again. Sy fell to the ground and struggled to get up as Malik approached.

"You two have ruined my plans enough! I'm going to kill you both now!"

"Sy, run!" Jaden exclaimed, shakily getting to his feet.

He tried to stand but his leg was in too much pain. Malik approached him quickly and Sy stared at him with fear.

Suddenly the dagger flew once again from Malik's hand. Jaden had thrown a large stone at him and it knocked the dagger away. Malik hissed vehemently and summoned several stones by levitating them in the air and hurled them toward Jaden, who had to throw himself to the ground so as not to get hit. Then Malik approached Sy within a couple feet and Malik raised his hand toward him. Sy knew he was going to use magic and without even thinking he held out his finger with the ring on it as Malik's power came at him. A huge explosion sent both of them flying backward and a bright blue light erupted from the ring and struck up toward the sky, filling the clouds with sizzling sparks.

A ray of light came down and Sy saw something through it. It was the forest—the forest at the academy where they had last been! He had been thinking only of home ever since he had found himself there and somehow the combination of the ring and Malik's power opened the doorway!

"Jaden! This is the way home!" Sy exclaimed.

Jaden shakily stood up and searched around for Malik, spotting him lying on the ground at least ten feet away.

"Jaden! Syrus!"

Jaden wheeled around to see Chazz and Zane running toward them. Chazz's clothes were ripped and dirty but otherwise he didn't seem to be harmed. Zane looked a little battered up but he too appeared to be unharmed.

"This is the way home!" Sy shouted at them, trying to stand up on his injured leg, but having to put most weight on his good leg.

"Come on!" Jaden exclaimed to Chazz and Zane, gesturing for them to run faster.

Sy jerked his head and saw Malik moving and struggling to get to his feet.

"HURRY!"

Chazz and Zane rushed toward them and Jaden turned to where he spotted Malik rising. Malik rose and turned to see the blazing ray of light and his eyes widened with fear. Sy could hear horses in the distance and he knew that Yami was close and if they left now Malik wouldn't have enough magic to escape before he was caught. And Yami would be able to handle him now that it was obvious Malik was the murderer.

Malik's eyes narrowed so dark and dangerously and Sy didn't even see it coming. Jaden shouted at him and suddenly leaped in front of him as a blow struck Jaden instead of Sy. Jaden screamed out in pain and Sy saw blood leak from his back as he collapsed.

"JADEN!" Sy screamed, reaching down toward his boyfriend.

Malik started coming at them, but unexpectedly a stick hit Malik in the side of his head and caused him to stumble over. Chazz smirked in response as he and Zane caught up to where Sy was clutching Jaden's unconscious body.

"Get in there, Sy!" Zane shouted coolly, reaching down to lift Jaden's body.

"NO!" Sy cried out as tears trickled down his cheeks.

Chazz grabbed Sy's arm painfully and forced him toward the ray of light, despite the protest from his bleeding leg. The last thing Sy saw was Malik clutching at his head and screaming in Egyptian toward them with an outstretched hand. Then he was blinded by light and couldn't open his eyes for what felt like a while. Soon, he felt someone shaking him and he slowly opened his eyes. He was disoriented and in pain but when he opened his eyes his vision cleared and he saw the dark sky.

"Zane, he's awake!"

Sy slowly rose, wincing as his leg moved and saw Chazz hunched over him.

"Where's Jaden?"

"Zane's got him. Come on."

Chazz helped him up but Sy couldn't put any wait on his leg so Chazz helped him onto his back. Sy looked up and saw Jaden unconscious and pale in Zane's arms and there was blood on his brother's shirt.

"Jaden!" Sy exclaimed even in exhaustion.

"We have to hurry and get to the nurse," Zane said firmly, heading out of the forest.

"Jaden…," Sy whispered as more tears entered his eyes, but he was too tired to keep his eyes open.

Some time later, he awoke and found himself in a hospital bed. His leg wasn't in much pain now and it was bandaged. When he rose, he found Zane standing idly against the wall in the room; they were the only two in there.

"Zane?" Sy asked weakly.

Zane opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms. His brother's stare was still intense, but more gentle than it had been before.

"How's Jaden?" Sy asked.

"He's weak, but he'll recover. He just needs to rest for a couple days," Zane said. "How's your leg?"

"It doesn't hurt much," Sy said quietly, staring down at the bed. "Why…how did we end up in the same place?"

"I don't know. It was as if time stopped or something," Zane said as he approached the bed. "I checked the time and it was the same as when we had first gone out after you from the dorms."

"So…do you think Malik…I mean the mummy will come back?" Sy asked hesitantly.

"Probably not," Zane answered. "He seemed to have used up his energy. And I heard the sound of horses nearby. I'm sure he was probably captured and sentenced."

"But…if it becomes a mummy again, won't history repeat itself?"

Zane's eyes narrowed and he came closer until he was by his side. Sy stared up at him uncertainly and Zane reached down and grasped Sy's hand gently, pulling it up. The ring was still on his finger.

"It was the ring that you took, wasn't it? The ring has powers and without it, I doubt he could've gone back in time anyway. If we destroy it, it shouldn't happen again, even if he's once again a mummy in that underground cave."

"Yeah and if the cave's still destroyed by the explosion so no one can get in then he can't possibly be freed," Sy said, feeling relieved.

"Perhaps. But we don't know what could've changed."

"What do you mean?" Sy asked curiously.

Zane hesitated and then sat down on the edge of the bed. "By going to a time that wasn't ours we could've altered history. It may be that he was buried elsewhere or perhaps he didn't even undergo this ritual. Either way, I think destroying the ring might ensure that he never comes back."

Sy nodded. "Yeah, but…I couldn't get it off my finger before."

Zane took his hand and pulled at the ring. It slid off his finger easily and Sy sighed with relief, glad to finally have it off.

"Oh good. I thought it'd be on there forever."

"I'll make sure it's destroyed," Zane said. "You just try to get some rest."

Sy nodded and then suddenly, as Zane got up to leave, he reached out and grasped his brother's arm. Zane stopped and turned back toward him.

"I'm sorry Zane. I didn't mean to put you all in danger. And…it's my fault that Jaden's hurt now…"

"You don't need to dwell on it, Sy. What's done is done."

"Okay, but…could we talk later, Zane?"

Sy looked down, unable to meet his eyes. He didn't want to mention that it was his relationship with Jaden that he wanted to talk about. Zane stared at him for a minute and then nodded.

"Later. Now lay down."

Sy released his brother's wrist and then lay down. He watched Zane leave the room and hoped that Jaden wouldn't be in too much pain when he awoke. He was just thankful that they had all managed to escape the mummy alive. And now he was back to dealing with other problems (ones that weren't supernatural, but still just as complicated); he still had to talk to his brother about Jaden and he wasn't sure how Zane would react (since he now knew they were together). But he knew that he had to talk to him. Sighing, Sy closed his eyes and hoped that Zane would be understanding.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	10. Epilogue

Curse of Amun-Ra

**Curse of Amun-Ra**

**Epilogue**:

It had been three days since it happened…since the mummy and the cursed ring had been destroyed. Jaden was finally strong enough to leave the hospital after the last of the tests. Sy had been by his side the majority of the time, holding his hand. When Jaden awoke, Sy flung himself at him and kissed him fervently, something usually uncharacteristic of him. The doctor came in moments later and took the last of the tests, relieving the both of them by saying that Jaden was fine.

"Wow, it feels great to be walking around," Jaden said, stretching his arms into the open air. "How about we go for a dip?"

Sy blushed at the wink, understanding the suggestion. As much as he loved being with Jaden, there was still something he had to do.

"Jaden…I want to, but not yet, because I…," he glanced downward, "I have to talk to Zane. I told him I'd talk to him and—"

Sy was cut off as he suddenly released a gasp and then a mild shriek as something hit him in the back and pushed him forward. He fell to the ground face first, but luckily prevented his face from touching the dirt.

"Sy! You okay?" Jaden asked instantly, crouching to help him up.

"What was that?" Sy asked as he stood up.

The two turned to see Chazz in the near distance smirking as he walked towards them. The object he had thrown was an orange, now squished and lying on the ground with juice oozing out of it. The rather harmless fruit, thrown at such a distance and very hard, had knocked him off balance and as usual Chazz was the one behind it.

"Look, if it isn't the two Slifers."

"What was that for?" Sy asked, crossing his arms to show his assertion.

Chazz glanced down at him carelessly and then reached out his finger and poked him. Sy flailed his arms as he stumbled backward.

"Your brother wants to see you both. I was just bringing the message," Chazz said smirking. "He's in his room."

"He wants to see us both?" Jaden asked, blinking.

Chazz's smirk faded and he bent down toward Jaden's face. "What are you, deaf? That's what I said! The Chazz doesn't repeat himself! And you losers better remember that!"

"We're not losers!" Sy exclaimed, suddenly stamping on Chazz's foot.

The older teen was surprised and let out a howl that nearby students heard. The students looked over then laughed and walked away. Chazz glared at made a lunge at Sy, but Jaden tripped him unexpectedly. Chazz gasped and flung his arms outward, Sy quickly dodged a hit, as he toppled over. Chazz fell to the ground and his face touched the dirt. Jaden grabbed Sy's hand and the two of them jumped over Chazz's sprawled body, laughing, and ran away.

"You two come back here!" Chazz shouted, stumbling to get up. "I'll get you both for that! You'll pay, do you hear me? No body disrespects the Chazz!"

Other students were whispering and giggling and Chazz wheeled around. "What are you staring at?" he bellowed.

The students gasped and ran away. They were only in Ra, but he didn't care. Jaden and Sy annoyed him enough. As much as he wanted to see what Zane would do to them, for he assumed it concerned the two annoying teens' relationship, he would have to post-pone spying and plot his revenge on the two. Smirking widely, he raked his hand through his hair and straightened his Obelisk jacket before walking off.

**XXXXX**

"That was great, Jaden!" Sy said, laughing.

The Obelisk dorm loomed over them and his fear returned. Jaden was still smiling broadly, not seemingly afraid. Sy was concerned about his brother wanting to see both of them. He could only think that it was about them being together. As much as he knew he had to talk to his brother, he didn't like the fact that his brother had made the first move, very obviously, and was requiring Jaden there as well.

Swallowing, Sy clasped Jaden's hand tighter and the other boy looked at him.

"Sy, don't be scared. No matter what your brother says it doesn't matter. We're together and that's that. It's not like he's going to kill me."

"I know…I'm more worried about him disowning me."

Jaden blinked and then gave him a look. "Hey!" he teased.

Sy managed a small smile and then gazed up at the entrance. He took in a deep breath before he knocked. The door opened and another Obelisk student opened the door.

"We're here to see Zane," Jaden said.

"He told us to come!" Sy added quickly as the other boy glanced at him.

"Fine, whatever," the boy said, shrugging.

The two walked inside and Sy wished greatly that Zane hadn't asked them to come there of all places. It was the place he had imagined in his nightmares…and the horrifying reaction of his brother and the mummy combined. He knew it had only been a bad dream due to the ring's influence, but he couldn't help worrying. They walked up the steps toward Zane's room. Sy was too timid, so Jaden knocked.

The door opened and Sy nearly stepped backward as his brother's firm blue gaze stared at them. Zane towered over the both of them and as usual his intimidating presence made Sy want to cower behind Jaden.

"Come in," Zane said firmly.

His voice was cool and strong, never cold unless he was mad, but still emotionless so Sy couldn't place what his big brother might be feeling. The two of them walked hesitantly into Zane's room and the door was shut behind them.

"Sit down," Zane said, still emotionless, but gesturing to his bed.

Jaden and Sy both sat down on the edge of the bed. Sy was completely nervous and Jaden seemed wide-eyed and uncertain as well.

"Zane…," Sy spoke out timidly. "Why did you ask us to meet you…here?" he asked, emphasizing the room.

Zane stared at him, obviously not knowing about Sy's nightmare. "Because it's private. I thought you both would appreciate that," he said calmly. "It'll prevent rumors from starting."

Sy glanced at Jaden who shrugged. "Sure. But everyone sees us together every day."

Zane's eyes narrowed and Sy's stomach churned with anxiety. "Maybe, but I still don't want people eavesdropping. What I say is just for you two to hear."

Sy shifted nervously and both he and Jaden remained silent, waiting. Zane crossed his arms and came closer to them.

"So what is going on between you two?" Zane asked quietly.

He stared at them with unblinking eyes. He wasn't going to ask about Sy's confession (earlier when he told his brother they were together), he wanted to hear everything. Perhaps Zane wanted to make sure what he heard was correct. Jaden uncertainly looked over at Sy, giving him the chance to answer.

"We…we're together," Sy said, feeling his throat constrict as he uttered the truth.

Confronting his brother was the hardest thing he's had to do. It was hard enough when he first came to Duelist Academy to even speak to his brother, or be anywhere near him, let alone confront him about things. He had managed to earn some respect by his brother during their experience with the Shadow Riders and when Sy was taken by the vampire-woman…Zane showed Sy he cared for him; his older brother had tried to protect him. And since then Zane had seemed less cold, less distant, but still it was hard to face him.

Zane's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Meaning?"

Sy opened his mouth, unsure what to say. He didn't want to make his brother upset, but there was no way around it.

"I…we…are, um," Sy gestured nervously with his hands. "You know, dating."

It was hard, but he finally told it how it was. And Zane still stared at him with an unreadable expression.

Zane uncrossed his arms and stepped closer, his eyes never leaving their faces. He glanced toward Jaden.

"So you two are an item?"

Jaden laughed nervously. "Yep."

He probably felt nervous with Zane's gaze on him.

"When did this happen?"

Sy blinked and then shrugged. "Recently…"

"Probably about the time we were sucked underwater from the hot springs and forced to do CPR with one another to not drown until we were in the underground tomb," Jaden said.

Sy jerked his head in surprise and then felt his nervousness grow. Leave it to Jaden to be a little too honest.

Zane was silent and then crossed his arms again. "Jaden, go wait outside."

Jaden opened his mouth in surprise, but at the harsh look on Zane's face he got up, giving Sy one last glance, and walked out. Now that Jaden was gone, Sy felt uncomfortable. He wrung his hands anxiously in his lap wondering why Zane wanted him alone.

Zane stared at him and instead of walking to the window like he usually did when talking to Sy, Zane approached him. After moments of silent, Sy squirmed uncomfortably.

"Um…Zane, a-are you mad?" Sy asked.

"No. It's your choice to do whatever," Zane said in his usual tone. "But I doubt you can handle having a real relationship."

"What?" Sy asked as his eyes widened.

Zane closed his eyes momentarily then opened them and stared at him calmly. "You're too young. And you've barely even outgrown your imaginary girlfriends," he said, referring to Sy's imaginative dates with his cards.

"That's not fair!" Sy said, raising his voice. "I haven't had imaginary girlfriends since the beginning of the year! And you were younger than me when you had your first girlfriend!"

"That's me, not you," Zane said coolly.

With crossed arms, Zane stared at him silently and Sy felt many years of anger surface. Without realizing it, he stood up off the bed staring at his brother intensely.

"You're such a jerk!" Sy exclaimed. "All I ever do is try to make you proud and you never do anything for me! You always say mean things to me! How can you not care at all when all I ever do is show you that I care about you?"

His voice rang out in the room and for the first time Sy was surprised by himself. He had never spoken this way to Zane before. Unfortunately, his brave confrontation came with tears and Sy slumped back onto the bed and began to cry. He covered his face with his hands, feeling as though he'd never get through to Zane. Sometimes Zane was nice, but he was never brotherly and Sy wanted that so bad.

"Stop crying."

Sy wiped at his eyes and tried to calm himself even as more tears fell.

"If you want to be in a relationship, you have to act more mature," Zane said, tossing him a box of tissues. "So stop crying."

Sy grabbed the box of tissues and threw it on the floor. "I hate you!" he exclaimed. "I hate you, I hate you!"

Sy kicked the box of tissues and curled up into a ball on the bed with his arms around his legs and his head face-down.

"If you're going to act like a baby, then you're not ready for a relationship," Zane said firmly.

"Yes I am! I'm not crying about the relationship! I'm fine when I'm with Jaden. It's _you_! You always make me cry!" Sy shouted, lifting his head to look at his brother.

"You asked for my consent," Zane said, staring at him calmly.

"Because I want you to love me!" Sy blurted out as more tears came to his eyes, making the room blurry. "I want you to show me that you care! And I want you to be proud of me and to like who I'm with!"

Zane stared at him as Sy continued to sob. "I'm not your father."

Sy gazed up at him with wide eyes. "I don't think of you as my father, Zane."

"Ever since you were little you've followed me around and asked my advice on every little thing. You wanted me to tell you how to act, how to duel, how to live. You relied on me too much."

"That's no excuse for treating me like I don't exist or acting like you hate me!" Sy shouted. "I only wanted you to accept me and to play with me, but you never did! I didn't want a father, Zane, I wanted a brother! And you wouldn't even be that!"

"Then why are you asking my permission to date Jaden?"

Sy's lips parted as though he wanted to say something, but he stopped. Zane was right. Sniffling, Sy glanced at the ground not uttering a word. For several moments, they were both silent. Zane finally stepped forward and picked up the dented tissue box and put it back on his desk.

"It shouldn't matter if I like Jaden or not," Zane said firmly. "If you're mature enough to have a relationship, you can decide that on your own."

Sy wiped at his eyes, finally having calmed down. Zane gazed at him for a moment but then walked over to his bureau. "I need to prepare for my graduation duel now."

"Oh right. It's tomorrow," Sy said aloud. He got up slowly, feeling rather embarrassed for throwing a tantrum. "Um, good luck, Zane."

Zane glanced at him. "It's not luck that'll set me on top."

"I know, I just mean…I just wish you the best, that's all."

After one last glance, Sy turned to leave. Jaden wasn't outside the door when Sy came out. He looked back and forth down the hall and called out his name. Sy ran down the stairs, hoping that Jaden hadn't left without him. As he skidded at the bottom of the stairs, he caught sight of the dining table. There sat Jaden with a pint of double chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and a spoon.

"Jaden! That's Chazz's ice cream!" Sy exclaimed.

Gazing up at him, Jaden gave him a charming smile. "I know. Want some?"

Smiling, Sy walked over to him and sat down. Jaden handed him the spoon and Sy took a large bite. The ice cream melted on his tongue and he sighed contently. Then he handed the spoon back to Jaden who took another bite. The pint was nearly half empty.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Sy said.

"How did it go?" Jaden asked.

"He…he said it was my choice."

Jaden raised his eyebrows and then grinned. "Well, good."

Sy nodded, not wanting to show that he was still upset. He knew that Zane was right about it being his choice, but he still wanted his brother to say something more supportive.

"JADENNNNNNNNNNN!"

Sy practically jumped out of his seat as the scream echoed around the room. Jaden and Sy turned their heads toward the stairs where Chazz was glaring at them with both his fists clenched by his sides.

"Uh oh. Time to go," Jaden said, dropping the spoon.

Sy let out a shriek as Jaden grabbed his hand and tugged him out of his seat. The two of them ran for their lives toward the door as Chazz chased them out.

"I'LL GET YOU SLIFERS!" Chazz shouted after them.

Chazz heaved in deep breaths, glaring after both Jaden and Sy. He didn't feel like wasting his energy and running after them. They had the head start anyway. No, he'd have to find another way to pay them back…perhaps after the graduation ceremony. Or…

Chazz smirked and closed the Obelisk door and then went up the stairs. He knocked on Zane's door. When it opened, Zane stared at him coolly.

"What do you want?"

"Oh nothing…," Chazz said grinning. "You know, I just thought you might like to know that I spotted Jaden and Sy all over each other in the dining room. It was rather disgusting. But since you're Sy's brother and all I thought you'd like to know."

Zane's eyes narrowed. "Why should I care? I have to study."

Chazz blocked the door before he closed it and his smirk widened. "Well…it's none of my business, but if I had a younger brother I'd be a little concerned with that sort of…display. I mean, Sy is a bit young to be involved in a serious relationship and you know how Jaden is…For all we know, the two of them could be having sex right now."

With that, Chazz shrugged and then skipped back to his room.

Meanwhile, to Sy's relief, Chazz didn't chase them passed the Obelisk dorms. Sy and Jaden ran until they reached the Slifer dorms, completely out-of-breath. Chumley was in the room eating a burger and Sy and Jaden collapsed on the floor.

"Where have you two been?" Chumley asked with a mouth full of food.

Jaden took deep breaths. "Don't…ask…"

Sometime later, when Chumley was fast asleep snoring loudly and Jaden was getting into bed, Sy slipped on his pajamas. Instead of walking to his bed though, he walked to the window and peered out into the darkness.

"Sy?"

Turning, he saw Jaden sitting up in his bed watching him. The other boy got down and approached him.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked, sitting down beside him.

Sy shrugged. "I guess I'm still upset with Zane. I want him to be supportive and loving but…is that asking too much? I mean, is that more like me treating him like a father?"

"Is that what he said?" Jaden asked, leaning on his hand.

Sy nodded.

Sighing, Jaden scratched at his head and scooted closer to him. "Look, I don't know what it's like to have a sibling, but…even if you do depend on Zane for a lot that doesn't mean you think of him like a father. I mean, even I notice how distant he is a lot. He could be more compassionate in general, you know?"

Sighing, Sy glanced downward. Jaden put an arm around him and hugged him close.

"Hey, don't be sad. Look, if Zane always remains a jerk, well…there's nothing you can do. He might never be a good brother but it's not like he hasn't ever shown sympathy. He did save you a couple of times during our fights with the Shadow Riders, remember?"

Sy sniffled and nodded. "Yeah…"

"So he does care he just doesn't show it much. Besides, we'll always have each other."

Sy wiped at his eyes and leaned his head on Jaden's shoulder, closing his eyes.

**XXXXX**

Sy felt a little sad as he sat in the bleachers next to Jaden, surrounded by their friends Sabastian, Chumley and others. All the Obelisks were in line in the center of the dueling arena, including Chazz, Alexis, Atticus and Zane. The entire arena was filled with all the other students. He could see Zane clearly from where he sat and it saddened him to know that his brother was graduating. The principal gave his speech about how wonderful Duelist Academy was and how many would go on to continue to be in the dueling field. Then he listed the top five Obelisk students with the best grades and dueling scores. Zane of course was at the top. And because Zane was the top student, he was chosen to duel the second best student.

As Sy watched his brother duel, he was still amazed at the tricks and surprises Zane had in store and how powerful his cards were. By the end of the duel, Zane had won. It had been close in the beginning, but it was clear that Zane had earned his place as top student fairly. Everyone clapped loudly and while Sy admired his brother greatly, he didn't clap. He stared at his brother wishing that things were different between them. Then he glanced over at Jaden who was clapping enthusiastically and grinning widely. Slowly, Sy smiled and clapped quietly.

The graduation reception was outside after the duel with tablets set up with delicious foods and beverages. Jaden gulped down glasses of punch and piled his plate high with fried chicken, dumplings and lots of sweets. Sy wasn't incredibly hungry. All the students were talking amiably with one another and Sy, Chumley and Jaden were seated at a table with others from the Ra dorms, including Sabastian.

"Well, this has been an interesting year," Sabastian said. "That mummy prank was unusual."

"Yeah," Sy said, laughing nervously.

Jaden swallowed his bite of food and grinned. "We kicked his—"

"Well, well, look here," Chazz said, approaching the tablet. "I wondered why I couldn't find just one slice of chocolate cake and here's why."

He glared at Jaden who just smiled. "GIVE ME SOME!"

Chazz flung himself across the tablet and Jaden dodged him easily. Sy sighed heavily as Sabastian tried to break up the fight. Then he spotted Zane walking with Alexis some distance away. He wanted to get up and congratulate Zane, but after their argument the other day Sy wasn't sure if Zane ever wanted to speak to him again. Sy's eyes watered but he didn't let any tears fall.

Suddenly, Alexis hugged Zane and then walked away to join her friends. Zane stood still for a moment and then turned around until his eyes stopped in Sy's direction. Sy felt his chest tighten as Zane locked eyes with him. Instinctively, Sy looked down at his plate and pretended to be eating. However, a couple minutes later when he glanced up again, he saw Zane approaching their table.

"You ate my ice cream and now you're eating the cake! Give it to me!" Chazz exclaimed, having a strong grip on Jaden's plate.

Sabastian sighed heavily and then caught sight of Zane. "Congratulations Zane."

Chazz and Jaden turned their heads, but kept their hold on the plate. Chazz glanced at Zane then at Sy and his lips curled into a smirk. The expression unnerved Sy and he didn't want to know why Chazz was looking at him that way.

"I need to speak with you," Zane said firmly, staring at Sy.

Swallowing, Sy nodded and got up from the table. Chazz's smirk widened as he watched Sy follow Zane.

"Why are you smiling?" Jaden asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Chazz sniggered.

Then Jaden smiled back. "Not really."

Without warning, Jaden released the plate and it flung into Chazz's face, splattering him with cake and ice cream. Sabastian had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by some of the icing.

"JADDEEEEENNNNNNNN!" Chazz roared, leaping up onto the table.

Laughing, Jaden dodged his grasp and ran off. Chazz jumped down and followed him and Sabastian just smiled and shook his head.

"Looks like things will never change," he murmured to himself.

Off in the distance, away from the party, Sy followed Zane to one of the fountains nearby the Ra dorm. They could still see the party, but they were far enough away to be out of hearing distance. Zane finally stopped and Sy, who was staring at the ground, bumped into him. Blinking, Sy backed away and gazed up at his brother.

"Um…" Sy started, wringing his hands together. "I'm sorry for yelling at you the oth—"

"That's not what I'm here to talk to you about," Zane interrupted.

Sy's eyes dimmed and he glanced down at the ground.

"If you're going to have a relationship," Zane began quietly, still staring down at him, "we need to talk about the consequences."

"Consequences?" Sy asked, looking into his brother's intense gaze. "What do you mean?"

Zane's eyes narrowed slightly and then he took a step forward. "Sex."

"W-what?" Sy squeaked, feeling his cheeks burn red. He was so shocked he forgot about how sad he was feeling and stared at his brother open-mouthed. "Z-Zane! I know about that!"

"Do you know how it works with Jaden?" Zane asked bluntly.

Sy's entire face flushed and he shook his head. "Zane, we're not…," he trailed off too embarrassed to say anymore.

"If you want to have a relationship and be an adult, Sy, you have to know everything. If not, you have no business dating."

Zane said this firmly and Sy glanced up at him surprised. "I…I think I know how it works…"

Zane's dark blue eyes gazed at him unblinking. "That's not good enough."

Sy swallowed nervously and played with his Slifer jacket.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully," Zane spoke coolly.

Zane gave him a similar talk that his mom gave only he didn't hold back the details. By the end of the explanation, Zane told him that if he was mature enough to handle a relationship, he had to understand what was appropriate and how complex relationships were. This was one of the few times Zane had ever acted more "fatherly" than "brotherly" to Sy and he was confused and embarrassed, but at the same time Sy felt glad that Zane was looking out for him.

"Has Jaden ever touched you inappropriately?" Zane asked finally.

"No," Sy said shyly. "We've only…kissed."

Zane gazed at him for a long minute before he uncrossed his arms. "Fine. Do you understand everything I told you?"

Sy nodded, glancing at him still with pink cheeks.

"Good," Zane said, stepping back. "You can go now."

Blinking in surprise, Sy stood up slowly. Zane stepped away and turned around. "So…you're okay with us dating?"

"It's not my choice," Zane said, with his back facing him.

Sy approached hesitantly. "I know, but…I want you to be okay with it."

Zane didn't answer. Sy didn't budge and continued to stare at his brother's back. Then Zane turned around and stared at him. His deep blue eyes gazed into Sy's timid gray ones.

"Personally, I don't think Jaden's mature enough," Zane said.

Sy's eyes dimmed and he nodded slowly.

"But I've seen what he can do in a crisis," Zane continued as Sy gazed up at him. "And he takes dueling seriously. That tells me that some day I'm sure he'll be successful. And it tells me that he takes what he cares about seriously."

Sy felt his nose tingle as though tears would come, but he held them back. It was the closest Zane would probably ever get to admitting he was fine with Sy's relationship.

"Thank you, Zane," Sy said, fighting the urge to run over to his brother and hug him.

Staring up at Zane, Sy gave him a soft smile to show that he cared. Zane was silent, but he nodded in return. Feeling as though that was the best he was going to get, Sy turned to walk away.

"Wait."

Sy wheeled back around, looking at his brother curiously. Zane crossed his arms casually.

"I've heard that you're doing well in your studies and that your dueling has improved."

Sy nodded uncertainly, hoping that Zane wasn't disappointed that he wasn't at the top of his class. He was certain above average in both academics and dueling while Jaden was below average in academics and the top Slifer in dueling, however he still felt as though he wasn't good enough.

"Have you thought about what you're doing after graduation?"

Sy swallowed, wondering if this was some sort of test to see if he was keeping on top of everything. He didn't want to disappoint Zane, but he also didn't want to lie. Slowly, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I…I've thought about going into the Pro Leagues like you did," Sy said quietly.

Zane stared at him and Sy thought for sure Zane was going to tell him he wasn't good enough.

"I'm going to start my own Pro League," Zane said.

Sy's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That's great, Zane!"

"But," Zane continued, "I can't do it on my own."

Sy stared at him not understanding. And then Zane closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them he uncrossed his arms.

"So, are you interested or not?"

For a minute Sy thought that Zane was playing a joke on him. When Zane didn't budge, Sy felt his nose tingle again as tears built up in his eyes. He suddenly flung himself toward his brother and wrapped his arms around Zane's waist.

"I'd love to," Sy managed to get out.

He held onto Zane tightly, burying his face in his brother's jacket. Zane didn't make a move to hug him back, but he didn't push him away either. Keeping his hold on Zane, Sy kept his head pressed against Zane's stomach.

"Please, Zane…just this once can you hug me back," Sy said softly.

He kept his head against Zane's stomach, looking out at the forest nearby. Sy was surprised when he felt an arm wrap around his back and he nearly cried. Instead he smiled and closed his eyes. For several minutes they remained that way in silence until Zane's arm finally detached. Sy released his grip and stepped back.

"So, um, where are you planning to have it?" Sy asked.

Zane stared down at him and then looked up at the sky. "I've signed a contract with Kaiba Corps and I'm getting a loan to build it where the old Kaiba Corp building used to be."

"That's a nice area," Sy said. "It's right near that natural forest and those waterfalls. Are you just taking over the old building?"

"No. I have permission to tear it down and build my own design. I've also been given freedom to choose how I want to run the Pro league," Zane said, staring out at the water, which was a distance away.

Sy's eyes widened with excitement. "You know, I have a great idea for the design of the Duel Disks!"

Zane's gaze moved on him and Sy looked up at him nervously, not knowing if Zane wanted his suggestions.

"Can you sketch the designs?"

Sy was so happy he could hardly speak at first. He nodded quickly. "Yes."

Zane nodded. "Alright. I'll take a look at them. My plane doesn't leave here until the school year starts up again, which means not for another couple of days. You can show it to me before I leave."

"Okay," Sy said, as his heart beat faster with excitement.

Zane really wanted Sy to work with him. And that meant that if Zane was interested in his suggestions, that Zane would most likely keep in touch with him until he graduated. And after graduation, Sy would move to Zane's Pro League building with him and they'd run it together. It was the happiest thing he could ever imagine, besides being with Jaden.

"Hey Zane!"

Sy turned to see Alexis waving to him.

Zane nodded toward her and glanced down at Sy. Then he began walking toward Alexis.

"Uh, Zane," Sy said as Zane stopped and turned. "You know, I didn't mean what I said about hating you. I was just upset."

"It's fine," Zane said, staring at him.

Unexpectedly, Sy threw his arms around Zane again. "I love you."

With that, he released Zane and glanced up at him to see Zane's eyes had widened slightly. Then Sy ran off to find Jaden. He passed by Alexis who gave him a smile, which he returned. He found Jaden over by one of the food tables. He was covered in food but he had a big grin on his face.

"Hey Sy, you missed the food fight with Chazz."

Sy laughed. "That's too bad. Where is he?"

"He went stopping off to go get cleaned up. I guess the Obelisks are having a celebration party in their dorm area later."

"That's not surprising," Sy said. "I thought they usually did that."

"Yeah. And guess what? The Ra students are throwing one too just as a celebration for the end of summer break. You want to go?" Jaden asked.

"Sure," Sy said smiling.

Later on that day, the two of them got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and left their Slifer jackets in their dorm. The Ra party was big and one of the reasons they were allowed in was because of Sabastian, who had invited them. They danced and watched duels commence and Jaden even challenged a Ra student to a duel and won. After a while, Sy told Jaden he wanted to step outside for a minute. The two of them walked in the cool night air toward the fountain that Sy and Zane had been at earlier.

"Wow, it's nice out," Jaden said, inhaling the cool scent.

They sat down at the fountain and Sy looked up at the crescent moon.

"Zane asked me to be a partner with him in his Pro League that's he going to start after graduation," Sy said.

Jaden jerked his head toward him in surprise. "No way! That's wonderful, Sy! See, I knew he wasn't all that bad."

Smiling, Sy nodded. "Yeah. It'll make me work harder towards being the top student also."

"You're already doing so well, Sy. I mean, just think about how much you've improved since the beginning of the year. By the time graduation comes in a couple years, you'll be just as good as Zane."

"We'll see," Sy said, turning to give him a soft smile. "What are you going to do after graduation?"

"Hmm…I don't know. I have lots of options. I could go into the pros, even try out at Zane's Pro League," Jaden smirked. "I'm sure he'd love that."

Sy laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure. Um, no matter what you do decide though, Jaden, we'll always be together, right?"

Jaden's brown eyes locked into his and he leaned forward. Sy closed his eyes as Jaden's lips met his. Slowly, Jaden wrapped his arms around Sy's waist and pulled him closer. They kissed for a while until Sy finally pulled away. He kept his arms around Jaden's neck and smiled.

"Yeah, we'll always be together," Jaden said, grinning.

"I'm so happy, Jaden."

"I'm glad, Sy," Jaden said quietly, rubbing his back. "So you want to head to the hot springs?"

Sy remembered the lecture Zane gave to him concerning Jaden and felt his cheeks heat up. Jaden blinked, staring at him curiously.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Sy said, blushing. He then lay his head down against Jaden's chest and wrapped his arms around him. "Can we just stay here together?"

"Sure," Jaden said, smiling.

Sy sighed and then turned to glance up at Jaden. "I love you, Jay."

Jaden's eyes softened and he kissed Sy gently. "I love you too, Sy."

Tightening his grasp, Sy leaned closer and tilted his head as their lips met once again. As they kissed, Sy could feel his happiness grow. He wasn't afraid of the future anymore. Zane had finally opened up to him and now he had Jaden as well. Despite being almost killed by the mummy, Sy was incredibly grateful that the scary events had happened. It had brought him closer to both his brother and to Jaden. And that was what mattered most to him.

_**THE END**_

**Thank you everyone for sticking with me! I appreciate all the feedback! Thanks!**

_Angelic Candy_


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